The John Call Chronicals
by aliedcam1
Summary: When a Candidate signs to go to Balamb Garden, he doesn't know what he's getting himself into. Now John Call must use his mind and his reslove to overcome every obsticle in his way to save both his career, and his life.
1. Chapter 1: RDay

_Disclaimer:_ _I do not own any of the things involved here, except for John Call. He's sort of my alter-ego. _

The Chronicles of John Call

Chapter 1: R-Day

Squall Leonheart stood overlooking the entrance to Balamb Garden with his hands clasped strongly behind his back, and his eyes scanned the crowd in front of him.

"Man, these new candidates just keep getting smaller and smaller!" Zell Dincht said next to Squall, bent forward to peer into the crowd, "I don't think any of them are taller then me!"

"That must be a relief for you then," Irvine Kinneas said as he leaned against the railing on the side of the stairs, "I'll bet you couldn't teach a class that was taller then you."

Zell spun indignantly to glare at the taller man, "Oh yeah, and I got real scared when going up against huge monsters and even larger sorceresses! You remember Adel? She was huge! And if I can handle her, then I can handle a few Plebes too."

Irvine snorted and turned his gaze down on the milling mass of candidates, many of them shouldering their footlockers and suitcases of personal equipment. None of them wore a uniform though, so it was easy to pick out the SeeD cadets and SeeDs that patrolled the candidate ranks as they tried to form some semblance of order.

One of the candidates ran into another one, making that candidate land flat on is back, something crumpled in his pack. Jumping up furiously, the candidate confronted his offender with a raised fist and very harsh words. In seconds, two SeeD cadets were on the two before the confrontation could get any worse.

Squall's permanent glower deepened, and he was about to walk down to handle the situation himself, but a hand caught his shoulder. Quistis Trepe stood behind him and said quietly, "Let the cadets handle it."

Squall hesitated and then nodded, "They could use the practice," he said and went back to standing with his arms clasped behind his back.

Irvine and Zell snickered loudly at the exchange, but were quiet when Quistis turned her attention to them.

A loud bell tolled out across the grounds of Balamb Garden, and a hushed silence began to fill the campus.

After the tenth strike of the bell, Squall nodded to Zell who shouted loudly, "_Attention_!"

All of the cadets and candidates quickly snapped to attention, as they had been taught to do. Squall picked uneasily at his SeeD dress uniform, but walked out to the edge of the stairs to give his speech.

He hated speeches, he always thought that actions were far superior to any words, but he knew that it was always expected of the Headmaster of any Garden to a rousing inspirational speech on R-day.

Using a small spell that amplified his voice he said, "Welcome all of you to Balamb Garden! You have come to answer the call to join an organization that has a short, but very rich legacy. My name is Squall Leonhart, and I am the Headmaster of Balamb Garden."

He paused for a second to gather what he would say next, the only thing that could be heard in that moment of silence was the hallow _clag_ as a chain hit a flagpole. The cadets and candidates were still silent.

"In order to stay here, you must pass a two part exam to be taken in one hour. The first part will consist of a series of physical challenges in the Garden's Training Center. The second is a written exam which will test your academic ability. Should you fail either of these tasks, you will be asked to leave. Good Luck!"

He cut off the amplification spell and turned to Zell, "Take them to the Training Center. I'll be along to join you in just a second. Have them leave their stuff down in the entrance, they're not in Garden yet."

With that, he turned and walked back into the Garden.

"Why couldn't he just do that himself?" Zell asked Irvine, who shrugged.

Zell turned to a few of the SeeD cadets and relayed the orders that Squall had given him, and everywhere bags were thrown off of shoulders and suitcases were set down.

One candidate attempted to keep his backpack with him, but a cadet quickly told him, "Leave it. No one's going to steal it."

The candidate looked uneasy, but he consented and dropped it onto the rest of his stuff.

Smiling Zell said, "Alright all you grunts! Follow me!"

Irvine shook his head and walked in with Zell, "Calling them grunts won't get them on your side, you know," he said.

Zell shrugged, "You think I care?" he ran a hand through his spiky hair, "You think any of them will take unarmed combat training?"

Irvine smiled, "Not as many as will take sniper training."

They passed past the main gate and waved to the old man who sat at reception, he had been there ever since the Garden was founded. He was probably Cid's cousin or something, but no one ever talked to him except when they wanted to play him in a card game.

Zell glanced over at Irvine, "You care to make a wager on it?" he asked.

Irvine smiled and pulled off the cowboy hat he always wore, "Of course. How about 200 gil?"

Zell winced as he figured how many hotdogs that was, and then he figured how many he could buy if he won and shook Irvine's hand.

The two SeeD commanders turned right at the elevator, toward the Training Center and the SeeD candidates turned with them. Many were muttering soft comments to their neighbors and looking up at the vaulted ceiling or at the sparkling fountain that surrounded the elevator shaft. One particularly loud candidate wondered what kept the roof of the Garden up, and was quickly told to be quiet by one of the SeeD cadets.

As the group moved into the training center, the air began to become noticeably heavier and the group began to become more anxious to move forward. After a door slid open, they came into a wooded area and in a clearing stood Squall Leonhart, his arms crossed over his chest.

A few of the candidates began to mutter about having a live forest inside of a building but stopped as Squall's blue eyes began to wash over them.

"This part of the challenge is extremely dangerous," the SeeD commander said, "You must get to the other side of this training center without being knocked out by the various monsters that roam around here. Should you get into serious trouble, an instructor will step in and you will be told to leave. Good Luck."

Zell pulled a pair of metal gauntlets out of his pockets and put them on, while Irvine gathered a shotgun out from under a tree, where he had placed it earlier. Squall and a few other instructors like Quistis moved into the woods, and the SeeD cadets left as well.

To the candidates they began to realize what they were expected to do, and thought it was a race and began to run off into the woods. A few candidates began to talk amongst themselves and began to form little groups who moved off into the woods together. A few knew that they were expected to face monsters while in the brush and began to search around for weapons, coming up with only sticks and rocks.

About a quarter of the SeeD candidates decided that it would be better for them if they stayed alive and made to leave. As each one did, a SeeD cadet asked them their name, and crossed it off of the record.

One candidate named John Call watched all of these groups with interest and then began to stroll of casually into the woods. John was a man of average height and build, but had the look of some one who was overly confident which could be seen by his stride, it was more of a swagger. His face was angular, but his nose was more bulbous then pointy. His eyes seemed vauge, as though his thoughts were else where.

A short way ahead there was a fork in the road, and he halted to look both directions. Both curved out of site ahead, and he figured that both would lead him to where he needed to go, so he took the right path.

He quickly discovered that he should have taken the left path, because the right was overgrown and had a small lake in the center of it. Cursing to himself silently, John moved back toward the main path but halted as he heard movement in the undergrowth a head. He peered cautiously a head and was rewarded with a face full of goo.

There was no other word to explain it, but it HURT. Having the stuff in his eyes didn't help either and John was forced to wipe the stuff out of his eyes before he could even stand up. Rage filled him, and he stood up to address his attacker. He was surprised to see a large Gnat standing in front of him.

The gnat was not the small insect that shared it's name, but was rather a larger combination of a fly trap and a pitcher plant that could move. Laughing at his stupidity, John moved forward and grabbed one of the gnat's long branch like arms. The thing shrieked and tried to spit more goo at him, but John avoided it easily. He instead flipped onto his back and threw the thing over his head, and it landed into the pond. It flailed and then sunk beneath the murky water.

John sighed at the burning sensation that still prickled across his skin and he moved into the direction of the fork again, only to hear another sound in the underbrush. John glanced off to the left of the path expecting to see another gnat, but was shocked to see a very large T-rexasuar glaring at him out of beady eyes. John froze, and instantly recalled reading about T-rexasuars: They can be lazy if you don't present yourself as too easy prey, and don't like water.

John turned and ran, just as the T-rexasuar lurched for him, the monster's jaws missing John by only a few feet.

John jumped feet first into the swampy water and began swimming away from the shore as fast as possible. The T-rexasuar roared in frustration and tried to snap at John as he swam away. Eventually the thing gave up and walked away, and John decided to keep swimming toward the other end, where he was supposed to go.

He swam for a few strokes and then stopped to listen. Nothing moved in the forest around him, though a few roars from the T-rexasuar could be heard in the distanced. He pulled himself out of the water with a heave, his clothing making a wet _slosh_ as he hit the forest floor.

He kept moving through the forest, but halted when he came into another small clearing. This one had dying grass around it and a few fallen trees around the edge, and something about it set John's nerves on edge.

He was wet and shivering, and very uncomfortable, especially when the breeze would move through the forest. Then he realized what was making his nerves prickle: there was never a breeze indoors.

He spun and looked behind him: there was the T-rexasuar again glaring down at him with beady eyes. His own eyes widening, John turned and began running deeper into the forest, but he truly knew that he could never out run the giant beast.

The ground vibrated loudly as the beast chased after him, and John scrambled over a large log, and kept running. The beast loped easily over it and almost caught up to the running candidate when John switched directions running to the left. The giant dinosaur was caught of balance and tried to snap at him, but ended up running into a tree. It took the thing a few seconds to turn back around and take up the chase again.

When it looked to see where the candidate had run, it could not see him. Annoyed the beast growled and began searching around the area for a sign of its lost dinner. Giving up, the beast turned and walked back toward the entrance. There were an unusual number of students in the training center today; maybe he could get a meal out of one of them.

John crept out from under a log carefully; he was hoping to avoid notice from that huge beast. Finally certain that the T-rexasuar was gone, John moved into the open and started toward the rear of the Training Center again.

* * *

After he had left, Irvine Kinneas dropped out of a tree holding his rifle casually in one hand. Watching after the young candidate he propped a rifle against a tree and wrote on a clipboard, _Candidate # 56 is quick on his feet and firm in his mind. He also has the great ability to use the environment to his advantage. Escaped T-rexasuar. _ Then he moved off into the forest to make sure that the T-rexasuar did not actually hurt anyone. It was easier then filling out letters of condolence and all that messy paperwork that went with it.

* * *

John moved from tree to tree feeling for every breeze every movement around him. Ever since the T-rexasuar had left him alone he had already run into a small swarm of large looking mosquitoes that he had had to beat away with a stick (they were called Bug Bites) and ran into two more gnats that he had punched into a pulp. The result was John's own personal exhaustion as well as two very large bug bites on his neck and one on his chest and several acid burns from the gnat's acids and a gash under his eye from walking into a stick which now burned with the sweat from his face.

Finally he saw a yellow glow up a head and began to move quicker, but something stepped in front of him. It was another candidate, but rather then move toward the light he faced John.

"Well I see you've made it this far, but I'm sorry to say you have just failed the test."

John was stupefied, "Why?"

"Because I'm going to make sure you don't finish it."

Confused, John asked, "What do you mean?"

The candidate rolled his eyes, "I'm going to knock you out so you don't finish the task given to you. That way you don't get into Garden."

John began to study the boy then, and noticed that he was a fairly large boy with broad shoulders and was extremely heavy set. In his fist was a very large stick that looked as though it had been ripped off of a tree recently.

"Quit fooling around, we can both finish, it's just right there…"

The larger boy took a step forward and brought his stick up smoothly and began to advance on John.

Looking around for some way to get past the boy John picked up a slightly smaller stick and held it awkwardly. The grin on the larger boy's face was one of pure glee, "This should be fun!" he said and began to slash at John with his big stick.

Moving very poorly, John managed to keep the stick away from his head and his body but didn't block the stick as it grabbed his leg, forcing him to fall backwards. The big stick fell down toward John's face and John managed to place his own stick between him and the large staff, but his stick shattered on contact. Good thing for John, it deflected larger stick enough to where it got stuck in the mud next to John's head.

Seeing his opponent temporarily off balance and in a frenzy with anger and pain, John lashed out with his two broken sticks and managed to catch the candidate on the side of the head.

The large boy staggered back dropping his stick and putting his hand to his head. Charging forward, John struck again and again until the boy toppled over backwards, bleeding from many bumps and scrapes on his head.

John kicked him one more time and staggered toward the bright yellow light, his head throbbing and he could feel the blood pulsing through his ears.

* * *

Zell glanced out from around the a tree as the boy left the area. He looked down at the big boy who was groaning and moving around on the ground. Zell hated bullies. He had a few bad memories from his time at Balamb and also while he was a boy at Edea's mansion, although those memories were sketchy. Regardless, Zell did not like bullies.

Next to Candidate # 56, he wrote _Shows incredible resolve and is extremely resourceful. _

Zell scanned through his binder and under Candidate # 143 he wrote _Bully. Prefers to eliminate his competition rather then out compete them._

_

* * *

_

Squall Leonhart stood from where he was leaning from against a log that was bathed in yellow light. A very bloody boy stepped out from the foliage and scrambled on his hands and knees over to the light where he stopped and gasped.

Then he stood up and seemed to take notice of everything around him for the first time. He noticed the Headmaster looking at him with a raised eyebrow and gulped, then he snapped to attention after several very deep breaths and said, "Candidate Call reporting to the Headmaster for the first time as ordered."

Squall said, "You are the first candidate to arrive, Mr. Call. Have you seen any others?"

John was about to tell the headmaster about the big kid who had attacked him in the thicket, but decided not to because when he was about to bring it up, anger filled him to where he could bairly talk.

"No one sir, since you cut us loose," he said with a slight quaver in his voice.

The Headmaster caught the quaver, but let it pass, instead he said, "I expected more to show by now. What kept you?"

John inhaled to answer, but as he did a crashing was heard just through the underbrush behind the Headmaster. John's eyes widened and he quickly reached for a stick or something with which to defend himself, but he relaxed when a small group of Candidates walked into the clearing, they were carrying a few sticks and stones, but their clothing was all torn up, as was John's clothing.

It was a group of four, two male and two female, and they all had the wide eyed look of someone who had just stepped off a roller coaster.

"Congratulations," Squall said flatly, "You have completed the first part of the Entrance Exam. The next part will be a writing portion."

As the different remaining Candidates tumbled in one at a time or in small groups, it seemed like a significant number had been knocked out of the entrance just by the gnats and bug bites that frequented the area.

Just as the time limit for passing the test was dwindling to a close, the very large boy staggered out of the thicket, bleeding from the ears. His eyes were fogged over but they focused when they saw John sitting up against a log.

In the end, almost fifty Candidates remained.

Squall turned to the Candidates as the SeeDs all reported that all candidates were present and accounted for and said, "You all are accepted into Balamb Garden. This is just the beginning though, it only gets tougher from here. Tomorrow you will take a writing portion that will determine where your class assignment will be. Thank you, you are all dismissed to the infirmary and from there to the Quad, where you will receive your room assignments. Whether that assignment is permanent or only temporary is truly in your hands. Welcome!"

The weary Candidates now Cadets all applauded heartily despite their exhaustion, and were cheering as they were lead out of the Training Center.


	2. Chapter 2: Oaths in the Garden

Chapter 2: Oaths in the Garden

After having been checked out by the Garden infirmary and given a few potions with which to treat his wounds, John walked over to the Dormitory wing of the Garden where he received his housing assignment.

As a SeeD cadet, John would spend the next few years in a room with a roommate, unless he got really lucky. At the moment, there were about one-hundred SeeD cadets in Balamb Garden. This included the fifty cadets that had joined that day. Due to the extremely high demands of SeeD and its training program, it was unusual to see too many SeeD cadets become full SeeDs, especially after the Ultimica attack.

John decided that he would prefer to have no roommate as compared to a foolish roommate. His old master had not been willing to take another apprentice on, and John therefore was used to living in solitude.

Stepping up to the desk, John gave his student number and last name. There were two SeeD Candidates and a full SeeD Lieutenant standing behind the two Cadets. One of the candidates flipped through a roster and then checked off John's name.

"New Cadet Call, your uniform is in your room with two extra sets. You are responsible for the uniform and for getting your own weapons. If you had any weapons before you came to Balamb Garden, they should be in your room now. Please be advised that use of weapons outside the Training Center or Class while inside the Garden will result in disciplinary action taken by the disciplinary committee. Your roommate is Harrison Locke, but he hasn't signed in yet. Do you understand these terms and conditions?" the Cadet asked.

"Yes," John said as he picked up his room key. It was labeled room 34.

"Welcome to the Garden. There will be a welcoming ceremony on the Quad this afternoon at about 1400."

* * *

Stepping into his room, John saw the small bar and living room area and knew that he would have to stock the fridge with food. He also noticed two footlockers stacked on the bar and on top of one, a large sword encased in a scabbard sat. John recognized it immediately as his own, complete with the heron marks on the hilt and two more, he knew, inside on the blade itself.

On the other footlocker there was no weapon, just a label stating that it was property of "Harrison Locke." John grabbed his stuff and claimed the first room on the right side of the room. Inside of the smaller room, John noted that there were three dress uniforms of SeeD Cadet hanging on a small clothes rack at the foot of the bed, perpendicular to both the bed and the door. John shoved his footlocker under the rack and made to unpack when he heard a key scraping in the door.

He moved out of his own room and stared at the door expecting it to swing open. Instead the scratching increased and an excited voice outside began to swear loudly.

Sticking his head outside of the door, John saw a girl about ready to pound on the door. She stopped with her arm raised and looked at him funny, "Is Anakin there?" she demanded.

John looked back into the room, and seeing no one there said, "No, there's no one here. Except me."

She gave him a funny look, "You sure?"

John frowned at her, "Unless he's a ninja, he's not in here."

She growled a little deep in her throat, and John stepped back. Seeing this reaction she said, "Not you. Anakin is another student here and he stole…"

Seeing the blank look John was giving her, she stopped and stuck out her hand, "I'm Lori," she said.

Smiling, John took her hand, "I'm John, John Call. I just got here for the first time today."

"Yeah me too," Lori said, "Anyway, if you see a kid named Anakin, tell him I'm looking for him," she paused and seemed to consider him for a moment, "Maybe I'll see you again sometime." And with that, she turned and left, and John waved to her retreating back.

As he moved back into his room, John began to strip out of the civilian clothes that he had been wearing upon his arrival to the Garden. His black pants and cotton shirt with their hand stitched look had certainly made John stand out as compared to the manufactured look of many of the candidates had been wearing, and some had even snickered loudly at his look.

Apparently there were few candidates that came to the warm country of Balamb who were not used to the mass produced look of retail stores. John's people lived off of peddlers coming up from Esthar and from trading with the Shumi tribe to the north for materials that they needed to survive.

Removing his heavy overcoat, John slipped into his new uniform and was delighted to feel how conformable it was as compared to his usual attire. Then he attached his sword to his belt and hung his clothes up on his hanger and put them on the rack near the entrance of his room.

Moving out into the living room, John saw that he had a little time before he would be required to appear at the Quad so he decided to check out the cafeteria and other sections of the Garden to orient himself. With another glance at the room he left it quickly.

* * *

Zell was eyeballing the other people in the line around him with suspicion. He hated to be kept waiting, and although he was rarely paranoid, the rarity with which he was able to get his hands on the Garden's famous hotdogs made him wonder if someone was _trying_ to torture him.

Finally he made it to the front of the line and opened his mouth, only to see the expression on the lunch lady's face. His face fell and he moved away from the line, his stomach growling loudly.

_Maybe if I go to Ma's house…_he thought.

As hungry as he was, Zell decided to go track down Irvine. He was usually up to something, especially since he was promoted to 'instructor.' Zell figured that Irvine really wanted to show Quistis that he was a good teacher, but Zell also wondered if there was another reason Irivne was trying so hard to impress Quistis….

Lost in thought Zell had walked into someone and was very surprised to see a new student standing just in front of him. On the verge of apologizing, Zell was then again astonished as the kid began to shout at him.

"Watch where you're going dumbass!" the kid said loudly.

Zell's surprise then turned into rage, sure he hadn't watched where he was going but that was no excuse for this young punk…

"Who are you?" Zell demanded, "Don't you know an instructor when you see one?"

The new candidate's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to retort, "DON'T Talk back to your superior officer boy!" Zell snapped loudly, "Atten-sun!"

The boy snapped upright immediately and glared through wide open eyes at Zell, but Zell didn't give him the chance to reply.

"Name and student number now!"

"L-l-login Hawthorne, number 345231!"

"Well Cadet Hawthorne, you are going to be joining me in a 'short' run. And by short, I mean a nice five kilometers. If you don't manage to finish that run, then you will be serving detentions for a week. Got it?" Zell could have just given the kid detentions, and thus avoided the running, but he preferred to make the punishments unusual.

"But sir! The ceremony…"

Zell swore to himself, "Very well Cadet Hawthorne, you got off this time but if you continue to have that kind of attitude you will find your stay at the Garden to be difficult. Got it?"

The kid nodded so fast it made Zell dizzy, "Dismissed!"

Cadet Login Hawthorne ran from the room so fast he nearly plowed over a tall blonde haired boy who was striding in with a sword on his hip.

Shaking his head, Zell decided to move out of the area and go get ready for the ceremony.

* * *

John looked around the cafeteria in amazement. The architecture of this place was _amazing_. He smelled new foods and so _many_ people. He stood in line when he noticed another student who was standing in front of him studying him carefully, "Yeah?"

"Oh nothing. Just wondering when you got off the farm, that's all."

John frowned slightly, "Got off the farm…?" he asked slowly.

The man in front of him rolled his eyes and started to turn away, "I'd take bets on yesterday…"

John finally got the joke and went red in the face, "I was never on a farm," John growled.

"Yeah whatever Plebe. Say, when you're done eating why don't you go tend to the Garden's animals huh? I know there's a big mess that the T-rexasuar made by the entrance to the Training Center, make sure you bring a mop!" laughter erupted all through the cafeteria. John was forced to find calm but his grip on his sword hilt was knuckle white.

The older student saw it and pointed it out, "Hey look at him! He's so angry he's about to piss himself! What are you going to do with that little thing? Poke my eye out?"

John started breathing again, _Lot of good it would do_ he thought _to behead a Firstie on my first day at the Garden._

He sat stewing in his own embarrassment until they left making obscene gestures at him.

* * *

The cadets assembled on the Quad where the Seed Candidates and other older students had told each new Cadet to stand, as provided by clipboard that each of the students were carrying around.

Instructor Trepe stood on top of the stairs with Instructor Xu, waiting on Squall. Almost all of the students were there, and she did not want the commander to be late for these new students. He had to maintain an appearance of leadership at all times. He was after all one of the most powerful men in the world now, after Galbadia and Centra had fallen into chaos.

She had tried to stress this to him, but every time she did he just rolled his eyes at her and gave her a look of exasperation. She began to chew her lip, caught herself and then forced herself to stop. If he had to look like a stern leader, then she did too.

As the time came slowly to 1400, a last new cadet scrambled through the entrance from the Garden and was shouted at by a SeeD to find her place. The girl scrambled in front of one of the Cadets and he glared at her as he told her where she was to be placed.

As this grabbed her attention, Quistis was surprised when Xu nudged her and pointed to Squall who was walking in full dress uniform at a solemn pace. Irvine took up position next to Quistis on her right side, looking uncomfortable in his own dress uniform.

"Any idea what he's going to say?" Irvine asked out of the side of his mouth, nodding to the approaching figure of Squall.

Quistis quickly shushed him with a look and Irvine flexed his shoulder's uneasily, "I was just asking…" he muttered.

Squall took up position at the center of the stairs and Zell, Selphie, and Nidia stood at the other side of him each wearing their dress uniforms. A SeeD candidate standing at the foot of the stairs bellowed loudly, "Atten-sun!"

Only half of the new Cadets moved of cause, half noted the others and stood up straighter. Quistis spotted a slight grimace on the Squall's face, but it was quickly removed.

Silence filled the air, except for a slight breeze that wafted through the Quad carrying the sound of distant voices with it. Squall's voice rang out loud and clear though, so that every ear could hear it.

"Today you have entered the Garden, a military academy. As such, you are separated into your squads and each of you will be assigned to an instructor. They are your commanding officer, and as such you will follow each of their instructions. In addition, it has been a long standing tradition for each SeeD to have a personal weapon of his own. As such, you will select you own weapon. If we have a SeeD at the Garden who uses that weapon you will learn it from him, unless you see yourself as competent. I myself teach the Gunblade, but it is an extremely difficult weapon to learn."

He paused for a moment and then continued, "You are here today to take the Oath. This will bind you to the Garden, and the Garden to you. You will never be left behind by the Garden so long as you do not forsake this oath. Raise your right and repeat after me.

"I am a student of the Garden. I will abide by all rules and special orders issued by Garden. If I break these rules, I understand that I can and will be held responsible for my actions."

He waited for a moment, and the voices came back at him from the sea of upraised right arms.

"I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade," he emphasized the last point.

The students spoke this again.

Squall finished the speech, "I will be curious, brave, physically strong, and loyal at all times, and act appropriately at all times."

To some, it seemed to be a restatement of the others but they spoke it more loudly.

"Congratulations!" Squall said, "You are now full Cadets in Balamb Garden. Allow me to officially welcome you!"

A cheer went up and Squall let it go on for a moment, "You will follow your instructors to your classrooms where you will begin your introductory course. That is all, dismissed."


	3. Chapter 3: Class

Chapter 3: Classes

John had to wait until his squad was given permission to leave the Quad. First squad went first because they were closest to the door and the other four went only after their Instructor gave a crisp order and lead them out of the quad, up a flight of steps and into their classroom.

One feature that Balamb Garden always had a problem with was the sheer inability to move between the first and second floors. There was of course the single elevator which could fit about three or four people into it, but it was becoming such an issue between students that once the Garden set down again, the last thing Cid did as Headmaster was install a staircase leading to the second floor just next to the quad, and three more classrooms on the second floor.

Finally, a slim woman who was dressed in a dress uniform stood up and snapped, "Third Squad! Atten-sun!" the cadets had been standing at parade rest, and about three quarters had figured out what "Attention" meant, while the others just tried to stand straighter. The group of about ten cadets moved in a line following after the female instructor when she did a swift about face and marched directly up the stairs and into her classroom.

She leaned against her desk and motioned to them to sit down in the large desks that doubled as computer consoles.

"My name is Ashlinn," the Instructor said, "And I will be instructing this class. You will address me as Instructor Ashlinn at all times, and you will pay attention in my class. I do not turn my students over to Disciplinary Committee; I deal with them inside of this classroom, but do not think that that means that I am any easier. Most of the time, I will be harder. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," came a mumbled response from the classroom.

"THAT'S INSTRUCTOR ASHLINN TO YOU!" She barked at the class.

The class went rigid, before one of the students said meekly, "Yes, instructor Ashlinn."

The rest of the class paused a heartbeat before replying, "Yes, Instructor Ashlinn!"

"That's better," she said, "Today I want you to go around and introduce yourselves to me. I want your name, student number, dorm number, and weapon of choice. Starting with…you!" she stabbed her finger at a tall blonde girl.

Standing up, John couldn't help but notice that her legs were very long, because of the skirt that came with the female version of the Cadet uniform, "I am Brittney Jenkins, I'm afraid I don't know my number yet…" she said trailing off.

"That's okay Cadet Jenkins, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to learn it in detention," Instructor Ashlinn said, "That goes for any of you. Go on girl, finish what you were saying."

John had to admit, this kind of instruction reminded him of his old master.

The girl was still staring shocked at Instructor Ashlinn and had to blink several times before she could get her thoughts collected, "I'm in dorm room 10 and my main weapon is magic. I prefer to be a white mage rather then split open someone's head with a sword," she plopped down into her seat looking sulky.

Instructor Ashlinn glared at her, "Wipe the look off your face, girl, or I'll make it two."

Brittney's face went completely blank, and she began studying the top of the desk.

A tall dark skinned man stood up who was all long limbs, "I am Adrian Samarian," he said with a rich voice that was not overly deep, "Student number 45332 and am residing in dorm room 45. I prefer a quarterstaff as my main weapon, but I have worked a little bit with summoning Guardian Forces too," he sat down.

A short pudgy cadet stood up, who had blond hair that was cut in a close cut. He openly looked around the room and shrugged, as though it were an everyday occurrence to be in the Garden. He gave a smile that only touched his lips as he looked at the instructor, while his eyes had an intensity that reminded John of a pair of spotlights. He seemed to come to himself then and said, "I'm Login Hawthorne, student number 345231. Dorm ID is 56 and I use a shotgun as my main weapon." He gave another open smile at the instructor that apparently displeased Instructor Ashlinn, because her mouth gave a distasteful grimace as he sat down.

The girl that John had seen outside his dorm room stood up and introduced herself, "Lori White, Student ID 47812 and Dorm ID 35. I haven't picked out a weapon yet," she grinned cheerfully, "I'll choose one soon," she said brightly. Instructor Ashlinn only nodded and sat back down.

John stood up next and he eased the sword carefully so that it would not catch the chair legs and trip him, "I am John Call, student number 49882 and am in Dorm room 34. I use the Heron Marked Blade," he sat down. John did not want a detention, and Instructor Ashlinn seemed ready to hand them out if he said one word more.

A few people looked at John curiously, but few really knew what went into gaining the Heron Mark.

A big man stood up then. Really big. He was clearly a body builder and managed to flex every muscle as he stood up, his face turned into a charming smile as he stood up. He had a head that looked like it had been chiseled out of a boulder, "My name is Harrison Locke," he said smoothly, "Dorm number 34, but I don't know my student number."

John studied the man, and realized that he was his roommate. Instructor Ashlinn pressed her lips together and wrote his name down, "That will be a detention for you then, cadet Locke."

"These detentions, will they be served with you, Instructor Ashlinn?" he asked dryly as he leaned over the desk, flexing his huge arms and looking at her with big watery blue eyes.

She returned the look flatly, "No," she said, "What weapon do you use?"

If he was put off by her blunt reply, he did not show it, "I use guns. _These_ guns," he said bringing up both of his arms to show off his huge biceps.

This brought a few admiring stares from some of the men in the room, and blank stares from all of the women. His smile faded after a few moments and he sat down gracefully.

After a pause, the next guy stood up. He was well built and stood just a little taller then John, but had dark hair that was only grown out a few inches, "My name is Chad Johnson. Student number 45678, and I'm in dorm room 65. Real easy numbers to remember, and I am a martial arts master, so I am planning on picking up a pair of gauntlets to increase my attack damage," with a slight nod he sat down.

A last student stood up, and she spoke with a slow drawl that made it seem as though she were thinking about each word before she said it.

"Ashley Lawton," she said, "I am student 45698 and I'm in dorm room 12. I am an excellent shot with a rife, and I'm here for sniper's training. I reckon' this is the best place for it."

After Ashley sat down, Instructor Ashlinn stood up and said, "In addition to this class, you will be required to sign up for several other classes as dictated by what you want to be. Ashley Lawton wants to be a sniper, and those classes are offered by Instructor Kinneas where as cadet Johnson is a martial arts master and will receive instruction and evaluation from Instructor Dincht. Instructor Xu teaches social skills that is a required course for all cadets seeking entry to SeeD."

She got up and grabbed a stack of papers off of her desk, "This class is also required, but here is a course syllabus and a list of what courses are required and which electives. I want this sign up sheet returned to me tomorrow. Make your selections carefully, once they are made it is difficult to transfer out of them should you suddenly decide to take up Piloting with Instructor Nida instead of being a mage as taught by Instructor Tilmitt."

"In addition to that, I want you all to know each other's name's by heart by this time next week. You are a member of a squad now, and how you cooperate amongst yourselves is important to you ability to leave Garden intact. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Instructor Ashlinn," the class murmured.

"That is all, dismissed."


	4. Chapter 4: Instructor Almasy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from FFVIII, and I doubt that any one person does. If they did, I would mug them and take their ownership of the characters from them.

Chapter 4: Instructor Alsmay

John was sitting on the couch that was in the main room as he started flipping through the course syllabus and reading up on other classes that he would have to take. Harrison Locke had still not come back after class, but John had watched him walk off with a group of female students to the Training Center and did not really expect him back anytime soon.

He knew that because he was a blade master, it would be likely that he would have to enroll in basic fencing and all of the other blade classes. The social class looked boring to John, but he filled out the form that would schedule him with Instructor Xu for two hours every Thursday and Friday.

John considered taking piloting classes from Nida, but quickly disregarded that notion. After the rediscovery of the _Ragnarok,_ more and more aircraft were being built and space was slowly becoming more and more well known. As a result, a large number of the cadets at Balamb Garden were there to learn how to fly.

John was not, and knew that if he tried to learn how to fly aircraft, it would only take time away from his time with the sword. So he shoved the pilot classes aside. Other classes began to appeal to him though, things like history and language courses that would come in handy as well as an urban combat lab.

Finishing signing up for his classes, John stood up and after fastening his sword to his belt he walked to the door. Before he got there, it opened and was nearly run over by Harrison Locke, who was coming into the dorm room.

"Hey, dude," said the big man as he removed John from his chest, "Are you John?"

After straightening himself for a moment, John nodded, "You're Harrison Locke."

"Yeah, man. We're in the same homeroom," he moved around the counter and pulled open the refrigerator. He scowled at the lack of anything inside, and said, "Where you headed man?"

"To turn this in," John said as he waved the class sign-up form.

"Oh, dude, when is that due?"

"Tomorrow. It has to be turned in before class though."

"Okay man, I guess I should get on that," Harrison said as he walked into his smaller bedroom.

"You need to remember your student number too," John called after him as he walked out of the door.

* * *

Seifer Almasy never thought it would come to this, but even he had to admit that his plans had gone astray. After his dream was broken, the world had not been sympathetic. They all knew his face now, from how he took Vinzer Deling hostage in order to save _her_ to his responsibility for bringing another Lunar Cry on Esthar, no one wanted to have him around.

He had been run out of many towns along the way because they were both afraid of him, and because they had suffered at his hands before.

And now, he stood on the steps of Balamb Garden for the first time in nearly three years.

"Are ya sure about this? It's not like they'll welcome us back, ya know?" Raijin said as he scratched the back of his head with a massive head.

"IDIOT!" Fuijin snarled as she kicked Raijin in the shin.

"Ow! Calm down Raijin! I was just sayin', ya know?" Raijin said as he hopped on his other foot while holding his throbbing leg.

"Be quiet, both of you," Seifer snapped at the only two friends he had, "We must act dignified, like they need us more then we do them."

Raijin and Fujin exchanged glances, but kept silent. He had not been the only one who had starved lately.

Walking up the steps that lead to the entrance of Garden, Seifer eased Hyperion in his scabbard, but did not draw it. He swept back his dirty and tattered and dirty trench cloak like it was a cape with fancy embroidery on it.

Raijin and Fuijin flanked him on either side and all three moved in step. Some students began to look up from where they were sitting near the entrance. Some looked with interest while older candidates looked at him with their eyes wide.

By the time they had reached the gate, the old man who sat in his glass box was gaping with his mouth hanging open. He looked like he was about to try to stop them, but his voice came out in something like a gurgle.

People began to line the hallways now, and he heard his name whispered along with Raijin's and Fuijin's. A loud buzzing began to fill the entrance chamber like a thousand angry bees all getting ready to swarm at once.

He just continued to walk forward. No one had tried to stop him so far, and if he could only make it to the Headmaster's office…

At the directory between where the circle of the main chamber of the Garden meets the entrance way, two instructors stepped out to block his path.

His eyes narrowed as he took in who they were, "Why hello Instructor, how nice to see you again. And you too Chicken Wuss," he said with a bright grin and opened his arms wide as though to hug either one.

Both Instructor Trepe and Zell just glared at him, their arms crossed.

"As arrogant as always, Almasy," Trepe said.

"What are you doing here!" Chicken Wuss demanded.

Seifer grinned and waved his finger at them, "I'm just here to talk to the Headmaster, that's all. What I'm here to talk about is between me and him, and none of your concern."

"You have some nerve…" Chicken Wuss growled as he began to pull on his gauntlets. He was actually _shaking_ with rage. It was always too easy to get under that kid's skin.

He felt Raijin and Fuijin stiffen behind him and the crowd began to buzz a little louder.

Although Seifer was arrogant, he wasn't stupid. He unlimbered Hyperion and set it on the floor before kicking it over to Trepe's feet. After a few moments, Fuijin tossed her _chakram_ to the ground and Raijin handed over his quarterstaff.

"I do want to see him, and I'm even going in unarmed," Seifer said, "As you can see, we are completely at your mercy…"

"Enough," Quistis said, "Go and see him. I'll hang on to these until you leave."

Seifer nodded and moved up the stairs.

* * *

John found the mood to be very tense, but he did not pay particular attention until the man stepped next to him while waiting to use the elevator. Both the large dark-skinned man and the grayed haired woman with a patch over her eye glared down at him darkly.

"MOVE!" The woman said as she pointed him away from the elevator.

John frowned at them, (who did they think they were?) and turned around to push the button. He could feel the trio glowering into his back, but John just stood there paper folded in his hand.

The elevator was a bit crowded with the large, dark skinned man who crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently, plus the other three occupants. John studied the blonde haired man, all of them looked ragged, but for some reason he looked…relieved.

Tumbling out of the elevator, John was surprised to see the Headmaster standing in his secretary's office glaring at the three new arrivals. Even more surprising, Headmaster Leonhart was carrying Lionheart, the gunblade that was a legend in Garden but that he seldom carried anymore.

The blonde man seemed taken aback at seeing the Headmaster standing there, but he quickly recovered, "As I told the rest of your friends downstairs, I'm hear to see Kramer."

John moved off to the side, where the Headmaster's secretary's desk sat, and dropped the form on her desk. He would have left, but the trio was blocking the exit to the elevator.

He contented himself with standing at ease with his left hand resting on his sword hilt.

"Cid doesn't live here anymore Seifer. He retired and lives with Edea now. I would have thought you would have heard that," Squall said softly.

"Don't tell me, that makes you the new Headmaster, doesn't it?" Seifer said frowning.

The barest hint of a smile touched the Headmaster's lips and his eyes flashed in satisfaction, "That's right Seifer. Now tell me why I shouldn't either kill you, or kick you out of my Garden. Being a Sorceress' Knight a little difficult lately?" Squall sounded almost triumphant.

Seifer let that one pass, "Let's just say that the world isn't as safe as it once was…"

"Mostly because of you!" Squall cut him off angrily, "Why are you here?" he demanded.

Seifer glowered at the Headmaster, but answered his question, "We want to come back to the Garden."

Squall's eyes narrowed, "And do what? Surly you realize that you are too old to re-enter the SeeD candidate program."

Seifer paused for a moment and then said, "As an Instructor."

Squall's eyes widened, "As instructors? All three of you? Raijin and Fuijin I could pass off. But _you?_ You would be ripped apart by your students. Why should I even consider giving you job as a janitor here, much less an Instructor?"

Seifer's face darkened and he said simply, "Although you and I don't see eye to eye, I am still one of the best students to come through this Garden…"

He cut Squall off as he opened his mouth, "One of the best fighters, anyway, even you have to admit that."

Squall closed his mouth and nodded considering, "Yes, but that doesn't mean you know how to teach. Knowing you you'll probably try to cut one of them if they tick you off."

Seifer ignored that and continued on, "Besides, who else knows the gunblade as well as you or me? Are _you_ going to teach the gunblade? What about swords or quarterstaffs? The world is in chaos right now Squall, you have to make use of everything and everyone that will fight with you. I can make your students into better swordsmen and more dangerous soldiers. No one is more badass then me."

"I don't want an army of badasses. SeeD is a professional force, not an army of thugs. Why don't you try hiring yourself out to one of the mercenary groups out of Timber or Dollet?"

Seifer's face went blank and he shrugged, "Like I said, the world isn't safe anymore."

Squall considered that for a moment, "There will be conditions if I decide to let you stay, you know that right? That goes for all three of you."

"RESTRICTIONS?" Fuijin said and Squall nodded.

"And what would those be? I always like to know what I'm stickin' my head into, ya know?" Raijin asked.

Squall answered, "You are on a no-tolerance policy. One foot wrong and I will see you out of the Garden. You will not leave the Garden without clearing it with me personally. You're too much of a risk to go wondering around where people would more likely lynch you then look at you. You will earn you keep here as instructors of your personal arts until I feel your loyalty has been proven. Also, you will listen and obey me or any other SeeD at any time. Is that clear?"

Seifer looked hopeful and he turned to consult with the other two. John shifted uneasily, apparently everyone had forgotten about the new cadet.

Squall's blue eyes took him in then, "What are you doing here, cadet?" he asked.

The other three turned to look at who Squall was addressing and fixed him with a glare that told him that he was not wanted.

Motioning to the desk, John replied meekly, "Dropping off my forum, Headmaster."

"Very well, you're dismissed."

John snapped to attention and walked solidly to where the elevator was. The trio moved out of his way, but as John walked by he felt the blonde grab his sword.

John reacted instinctively by planting his left elbow into the inside of the arm that was reaching for his sword. Surprised at the size and strength of the grip, John barely landed enough force to break the grip. He stepped back and stood ready to perform Unfolding the Fan.

The Headmaster stood to his back, and John glared into the eyes of the blonde who had tried to take his sword with rage.

"I see you've landed yourself a Heron Marked blade, kid," Seifer said, motioning to the sword, "Did you earn that?"

Squall looked at John with interest now, and John just said tightly, "Try that again and you'll find out."

Seifer laughed, "Whatever kid. Don't trip over that now," and he stepped clear of the elevator and turned his attention on Squall, "We have a few demands of our own…" he said as the elevator doors closed behind John.

* * *

At the bottom of the elevator, John ran into Lori again.

"Did you see him?" She asked him anxiously.

"Nice to see you too," John grumbled. He hated it when people did that, "Did I see who?"

"Seifer, Raijin, and Fuijin! The three traitors are here!"

"Yes…" John said carefully, "They want jobs."

Her eyes went wide at that, "Are you serious? How do you know?"

"I was just in there. It looked like the Headmaster was about to butcher the three of them on the spot."

She whistled, "No wonder! You do know what they did, right?"

John shook his head.

"Those three used to be the Disciplinary Committee here. But Seifer left and betrayed Balamb Garden. He launched Galbadian missiles to destroy both Tribia Garden and Balamb Garden! When he failed to destroy Balamb _that_ way, he led the attack with Galbadian soldiers here. Lots of SeeDs and students died, so to us he's a traitor."

John whistled, "That's amazing that they weren't hacked to pieces. Anyway I gotta go. I'll catch you later?"

"Sure thing!" She smiled and jumped away.

It was only two days later when John got his schedule back and learned that he had Seifer for some of his classes.

"So it seems that they came to an understanding after all…" John said.

"What?" Harrison said from the couch as he flipped through seven different channels without stopping.

"Nothing," John said.

Harrison shrugged and went back to his surfing. John wondered just how good this Seifer was…


	5. Chapter 5: Physical Training

_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Final Fantasy VIII._

Chapter 5: Physical Training

As he had been ordered to do the night before, John got out of bed early and then roused his roommate from a deep sleep before the two left their dorm room to assemble on the parade grounds in front of the gates to the Garden beside the road to Balamb to begin morning Physical Training.

"What do ya think we'll have to do today man?" Harrison asked John as he was rubbing sleep from his eyes as the two of them walked down the quiet corridors. Some students were already out and dressed in identical running shorts and the gray shirts that had been handed out to them upon their arrival and were making their way to the parade grounds.

John shrugged and went to rest his hand on his sword hilt, which he realized he wasn't wearing, "I think we'll do some running or whatever the Instructors decide to put us through."

Harrison nodded as he yawned, "I hope it's weight lifting. I like lifting weights," he unconsciously flexed his arms.

John shook his head. He doubted that the Garden had enough equipment for people to do weight lifting all at once. Just down the hallway, John saw the door to room number 12 open and a red-haired woman came out that John recognized.

Remembering Instructor Ashlinn's dire warning to remember everyone's name by next week, John tried to recall her name, "Hey Lawton!" he called after a moment.

The girl turned around to display a face that was yawning and full of freckles, "Yeah? What do ya'll want?" Then she recognized John and said, "Oh, right I remember you. Uh, what's yer name again?"

"John, John Call," He said extending his hand politely, "And I don't recall your first name…"

"Ashley," she said quickly, taking his hand.

"And I'm Harrison…" Harrison began with a large toothy smile.

"Yes I remember you," Ashley said briskly and then started off down the hallway, "Do ya'll know where we're supposed to be headin'? The instructor never said," she asked.

"Parade grounds, in front of the Garden. Where we were on R-day, remember?" John explained.

"Yeah, I remember," she said, and the three fell into step.

When the trio arrived at the parade grounds, they were relieved to see that the instructors had not arrived yet for the various classes. The fifty new cadets had been split up into five different homerooms or squads, and all of the new cadets had to report every morning for Physical Training unless they had some legitimate excuse.

John spotted four other members from Instructor Ashlinn's squad and lead the other two over to where they were standing in the grass.

They were all huddled around and looked up when the other three arrived before parting to let the three new arrivals into the circle. The all went around trying to memorize each other's names and attributes to help remember one another.

Lori, John had already met previously and he asked her if she had found Anakin. She smiled and said, "Yeah, I found him. Made him give me back my stuff too, thanks for offering to help though."

John nodded and grinned, "Don't worry about it."

The other three were harder to get to know, but John remembered Adrian because he looked like that Raijin guy who was in the Headmaster's office with Seifer the other day: dark hair, dark skinned, and both used the quarterstaff.

Chad Johnson looked quite aware and awake; he was looking deeply into the faces of each of his squad mates as each said their names, memorizing their faces. Chad himself was well built if not the tower of muscle that Harrison was. His eyes were always alert though, which spoke volumes of what made up the boy's soul.

The last one was the pudgy Login Hawthorne, who was rubbing his arms across his body in the cool morning air. He snorted at the other cadet's attempts to learn one another's names.

"It's not like she's actually expecting us to learn one another so quickly," he said.

Then the topic turned to the reappearance of the old head of the Disciplinary Committee: Seifer Almasy and his two sidekicks. Rumor said that Squall was offering them a job due to the desperate need for experienced instructors in Garden, while Adrian said that he was sure that Squall wouldn't allow those three back into the Garden if they held the keys to controlling Galbadia _and_ Esthar.

* * *

Finally, at exactly 0600 the five instructors Xu, Trepe, Ashlinn, Dincht, and Kinneas appeared along with ten or twelve extra SeeD candidates who were on the verge of becoming SeeDs. Calling all of the squads into attention, each instructor explained where each person stood while in formation and other finer aspects of Drill and Ceremony for those who did not know what was proper for basic ceremony during PT.

Then came the actual exercise, which began with each of the Instructors stretching out each muscle in the body: triceps, back, abs, groin, thighs, cavs, and so on. After that was all done, John felt as though he had been tied up between two horses who had been ordered to ride at full speed in opposite directions.

And then the last member of Ashlinn's third squad came running down the steps and quickly and drew the eye of every person on the parade grounds. Her long blonde hair was perfectly trimmed and as she drew nearer, John realized that she was wearing make-up. In addition she looked freshly showered, as opposed to most people on the parade grounds who were waiting till after they had gone running to take their showers.

Ashlinn who was dressed in a pair of sweats and a windbreaker frowned angrily at the girl and barked, "Cadet Jenkins, please explain to me why you are late." It was not a question.

Brittney stopped suddenly, turning to the Instructor with a coolly raised eyebrow, "I had to get ready," she said.

"Please listen to this very carefully, Cadet Jenkins. I don't care if you have to come out here naked so long as you're on time, but if you're late then you have let down the rest of your squad when they need you the most and you have failed your job. If you want to put on makeup just so that you will have to wash it off, do it on your own time."

She turned to her squad, "Third squad, one of your members has failed you. As a result, each and every one of you will have to make up for her failure. In this case, you all will be required to remain behind for additional Physical Training."

John blinked. Just because _she_ had messed up meant that _he_ had to sit around and do extra pushups? That hardly seemed fair.

He was not alone in that feeling, as Harrison Locke shouted, "But that's not fair!"

Ashlinn's eyebrows rose and she opened her mouth angrily, "You wanna argue about it? All of you have a detention now."

John opened his own mouth then, but quickly snapped his mouth shut. Login Hawthorne didn't get the drift though and shouted, "_What_!"

"Two detentions," Ashlinn said getting right up in Login's face, "for all of you. Anyone else have anything else they'd like to add?"

This time, no one replied and Instructor Kinneas came over from second squad's formation and muttered in her ear, "If you're quite finished, I don't want to have to stretch them out again."

Ashlinn didn't even look over her shoulder, but she nodded with her jaw firmly set.

The country of Balamb is centrally located just a little north of the planet's equator, which makes it a popular and sunny resort for almost anyone. It has both beaches on the southern side, and huge mountains on the northern side which start just behind Balamb Garden. So despite the early morning's chill, the weather warmed up quickly as the cadets and their Instructors began running in formation. They went at an easy pace for this first time the five miles to the city of Balamb and then the five miles back.

Many of the cadets were not really used to the run, John noticed, and at least one or two members out of each squad was wheezing heavily enough to need support by his or her surrounding members. In third squad, Brittney and Login had the most trouble but quickly managed to keep up when Instructor Ashlinn came up next to them the moment they began to lag.

The Instructor herself had no trouble with the run, and she even ran up and down the line of running cadets to offer encouragement in the form of friendly urging or angry shouting.

John was content with encouraging anyone who had any problems, until he himself began to feel the run just after the whole column had turned around after reaching Balamb. But he managed to keep running by falling back on his training and by using an easy trick his mentor had taught him. He focused everything in his mind into a flame that he created in his mind, and he shoved every emotion, feeling, and pain that he felt into that flame. It created a sort of detachment from himself that allowed him to act by instinct rather then by requiring to think about each and every step he was making.

Finally, the lengthy run was over and the Instructors stood in front of their squads and began working each squad out on push ups, sit ups, crunches, V-ups, and a number of other exhausting workouts.

One by one, each squad left the parade grounds. First Quistis Trepe's squad left, and then Instructor Xu's squad left wheezing and limping, and then Irvine Kinneas' second squad left, until it was only Ashlinn's third and Zell Dincht's fifth squad.

By then John knew that Ashlinn had been serious about forcing them to stay long after each of the other squads had left. That sounded bad to him though, because he was already beginning to have trouble making each repitation of ten pushups or twenty crunches.

Looking over, John realized that most of fifth squad was having trouble doing the intense workouts that Instructor Dincht was having them do as well. Then John saw something he did not quite understand, Instructor Ashlinn looked over at Zell and he smiled at her with his head tilted. Instructor Ashlinn's face darkened and she showed her teeth back at Zell. Clearly, he did not take it for a smile because he flinched slightly.

Finally, Zell's cadets collapsed after a final round of flutter kicks. The remaining SeeD candidates had to help the cadets up off of the ground before Zell's squad could limp back into the building itself. When the last one went up the stairs and was out of sight, Ashlinn called out, "On your feet!"

John was up so fast that he did not realize that he had moved until he was standing still. Then he noticed that everyone else around him was getting up painfully slowly and it took a whole fifteen seconds before everyone stood at attention in front of the Instructor.

"All of you will run to the tree line to the east in front of the Fire caves and then come back. After that you are dismissed to go to your showers and rooms. I expect each and every one of you in class in one hour! Now go!"

John moved quickly without realizing that he had taken off. He could feel tightness in his legs and arms as he ran only distantly through the void. His detachment allowed him to keep moving further and faster then the rest of his squad, even the ox-like Harrison Locke.

He reached the tree line far ahead of the rest of the pack and then turned around and pushed every last ounce of energy he had left into his final sprint back to the walls of the Garden. He passed each of his squad mates as they made for the trees, first Adrian who seemed to have almost no sweat on his face and then Lori who looked absolutely whipped, but she had a determined look on her face and kept running, and then Chad Johnson the martial artist, and last was a very ruffled looking Brittney Jenkins and the chubby form of Login Hawthorne.

Just as John was about to pass Login at about halfway back to the Garden walls, a tremendous pain in his stomach put him on the grass. Looking up, he saw the panting figure of Login rubbing his fist and standing over him.

"Why did you do that?" John asked simply.

"Stop…Stop it!" Login panted.

"Stop what!"

"Showing…showing off!"

John stared, "What are you talking about?"

"You think you're so hot because you can run and do shit so easily? You thin prick! I could break you!"

Login lunged at John then, and John instinctively rolled over to the side and onto his feet. Reaching for his sword, John grimaced when he realized that it was not there, and he took a meaty fist in the face before the rest of the squad pulled Login off of John.

"Take it easy!" Chad said.

"Ya big bully!" Ashley howled.

Harrison finally used his overpowering bulk to push the furious cadet to the side, "Chill the heck out man!"

Adrian just crossed his arms and looked grimly behind Login's shoulder. John felt his face and then noticed his, and then Lori's grim gaze. He looked up, and his heart sank.

Instructor Ashlinn stood there with thunder on her face.

* * *

"That was absolutely unacceptable!" Ashlinn was screaming an hour later in her classroom nearing the end of an hour tirade, "You are the worst excuse for wannabe soldiers I have ever seen! Would any of you care to explain why you decided to turn this morning's PT into a boxing match?"

No one answered, and John didn't know if he could open his mouth. Realizing just how hard he pushed himself that morning had made him too tired to even attempt to sit upright, until Ashlinn ordered him to, that is.

"No? I thought not. Very well. Each and every one of you will serve detentions until the end of the week. You will learn how to act as a team here, or else you will leave Garden and go back to where you came from. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Instructor Ashlinn," The eight members of third squad said in unison, but without much enthusiasm.

"Good. Now each of you has other classes to get to and your instructors won't like it if you look like you came from Physical Training. I expect each of you to report to Classroom number one tonight by 2000 to serve your detentions."

"Yes, Instructor Ashlinn,"

"Very well, dismissed,"

* * *

John slammed his fist into a wall as the elevator spun downward. He was furious and the other people in his squad felt it, but kept silent.

"It wasn't my fault!" he growled.

"We know that," Lori said easily, "but we are a team. What one person does wrong, we all do." She said with a nasty look at Brittney.

"Yeah, I know," John growled.

* * *

Quistis sighed as she stood to the side for the cadets to get out of the elevator. They were still sweaty and dressed in their PTs, even though Physical Training had ended hours ago.

Stepping onto the elevator, she punched the button for the top floor. It whirled easily upward past the second floor and up into the headmaster's office. Stepping off of it she shifted the folders in her hands when she saw Squall standing through the open door in his study, looking out over the grassy plains of Balamb.

She walked past the secretary's desk and into the Headmaster's office, one of the few people who could so easily bypass the trained stalling methods of Squall's secretary.

"What did you tell them?" Quistis asked as she closed the polished wooden door behind her.

Squall turned on his heel and looked at her blankly, "Told who what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Squall," Quistis said setting her folder down and grabbing the back of the chair in front of her desk, "What did you tell Seifer, Raijin, and Fuijin?"

Squall paused for a moment, "I decided to let them back in," he said.

"I see," Quistis said, not changing her gaze, "Why?"

Squall shrugged, "We need instructors, Quistis, and like it or not Seifer and his two friends are some of the best we can have. Maybe they'll reform themselves."

Quistis rolled her eyes, "That's an unusually positive statement coming from you, Squall. Usually it's Selphie who says things like that."

Squall's mouth tightened, "You think I made the wrong choice?"

"We'll see," she said, "Where are they now?"

Squall checked his watch, "Raijin and Fuijin should be checking into their new rooms about now, and Seifer starts his first class, so he must be getting ready for that."

Quistis' eyes widened, "You are having him teaching already?"

Squall nodded, "He's being watched by two SeeDs, so he won't do anything stupid."

"And what if he does?" Quistis asked angrily.

Squall shrugged, "Then the SeeDs will stop him and he will get kicked out of the Garden faster then you can say 'Hyperion.'"

Quistis sighed, "Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you…"

"I won't," Squall said briskly, "Now what do you have for me?"

Quistis took a seat then and set her folder on her desk, "In a nutshell? The new cadets had Physical Training for the first time this morning and most did well. Ashlinn's squad was out there the longest though, and I think the intense training got to them."

Squall sat down too, "Huh?"

"There was a fight," she said with a significant look at him.

Squall ignored her look, but he touched the scar on his face unconsciously, "Who won?" he asked.

"Squall!"

Squall stared back at her blankly, and she gave in, "I don't know. The other squad members broke it up. Ashlinn's dealing with it now."

"What else you have?" Squall asked.

"Timber's getting anxious for it's independence as usual," Quistis began, "And Galbadia is rattling sabers over expanding into Tribia…"

* * *

John quickly got dressed in another uniform and then hurried out of the dorm room. Harrison was asleep on the couch, apparently sleeping off the exhausting run they had just done.

Hurrying, John grabbed his schedule that Instructor Ashlinn had handed him as he walked out of her classroom. He saw that he had Fencing 1010 first, and he smiled.

_Piece of cake, _he thought. He didn't know how mistaken he was.


	6. Chapter 6: You think you deserve that?

Chapter 6: You think you deserve that?

Seifer Almasy stood in a freshly laundered shirt at the front of the room feeling clean for the first time in nearly two months. Several students walked into the room a few minutes before the bell rang, and most shot curious glances at the former Sorcerers' Knight. Seifer just ignored the kids though, until the last one came into the room.

Blonde hair like Seifers' and carrying a curved blade with a blue scabbard on his hip, it was the boy that Seifer had tried to disarm while in Squall's presence. Seifer's eyes narrowed with interest on the small Heron Mark on the boy's blade.

A blademaster at seventeen? Now that would be something to see. Seifer would find out where that boy had gotten the sword soon enough.

At exactly 0900, Seifer rapped his knuckles on the desk to get the student's attention. In the end, there were about ten of them, most male.

"You are here to learn how to use a sword," Seifer said as he crossed his arms and leaned on the desk, "And I am here to teach you. You will address me as 'Professor Almasy' and raise your hand if you wish to speak to me. If you fail to follow these instructions or any other ones I give you then you will earn a detention. Is that understood?"

A silence filled the room and Seifer slammed his palm down on the table, "When I ask you a question, you will respond! Now is that understood?"

"Yes Instructor Almasy," most of the room echoed except for one student who said, "Yes, sir."

Seifer's head snapped around, "Detention!" he snapped pointing his finger at the wrong-doer like a javelin.

After that, Seifer waited a few seconds before continuing.

"This is Hyperion," he said producing the blade from his sheath that hung from his belt. He would usually flair back his trench cloak, but it was currently being mended so he was just wearing a sleeve-less t-shirt. Nevertheless, the blade was an impressive just by the loud _clunk_ the weapon made when it hit the table, speaking loudly of the amount of strength it took to lift the thing, much less wield it.

"I don't care about attendance, because if you don't show up for my class it's your own fault. I could care less if you want to become an even basic swordsman or not, and judging by the lot of you I doubt that's going to happen," Seifer finished just to make himself firmly in control, but he glanced on the blonde haired boy for a moment before continuing.

"You were all ordered to arrive with your weapons for inspection. Have you all done so?" Seifer asked.

"Yes Instructor Almasy," the class echoed.

"Present them," he said softly, and a flurry sound erupted as the cadets grabbed their swords of various types and laid them out on the tables. Seifer began walking around and inspecting the various personal weapons that were laid out before him.

Immediately he stopped in front of one boy of about medium stature with dark hair. On the table in front of him sat a rapier that was polished so well that it shined in the light of the classroom's overhead lights.

"Name?" he asked.

"Leon Feroas," he said uneasily.

"What do you hope to accomplish with that thin blade you have there?" Seifer snarled, "You hope to tickle your opponent to death?"

"No…Instructor Almasy, it's just that this is the only weapon I know how to use…"

"That's why you are here Cadet Feroas," Seifer said angrily, "The next time you are here, you will have put this toy away and gotten yourself something that will actually kill something. Do we understand?"

"Yes Instructor Almasy," Leon Feroas said meekly, not meeting Seifer's intent gaze.

And so it went, Seifer went around the class asking for explanations of each person's personal weapon and requiring either that they replace it, or else giving approval that it could be carried.

Seifer then came to John, who had the curved Heron Marked weapon that he carried laid out on his desk, standing stiffly behind it. Seifer's gaze swept over John, how he stood, what his facial expression was, everything. John did not move or shift at all during this scrutiny, he did not dare. Finally Seifer looked down at the sword, nodded once and walked away back towards the front of the classroom.

"Each of you are dismissed for now…except for you Cadet Call," Seifer said, "Make sure your weapons are appropriate for our next meeting."

The class filed out of the room, but John remained, sword still out on his desk and not moving.

Seifer studied John for a moment, and then said, "Grab that sword of yours. We're going down to the Training Center."

* * *

The moist air of the Training Center combined with the poor lighting that came from sporadic yellow light bulbs made the whole area claustrophobic and downright dirty. Seifer led the way into the small clearing just next to the entrance, near where the first challenge had awaited him and his other classmates with one simple rule, survive.

John hoped very much that this experience would not be the same.

Several students were lounging about the entry way to the Training Center, few monsters came here so some people came down to meet friends before going off to train, and that is what appeared to be going on now. Seifer stopped before turning to face John, Hyperion already drawn.

"You think you deserve that sword and that mark?" Seifer asked, "Then prove it!" he snarled before attacking.

Caught off-guard, John back peddled a few steps before he instinctively pulled his sword out of his scabbard, and caught Seifer's gunblade with a quick parry, before trying to take up a defensive stance.

"What are you doing!?" he demanded of his instructor.

Seifer did not reply, but attacked again, which John deflected. John pivoted and used the momentum he gained to strike back at Seifer, down low near his kidneys. Seifer bent his wrists over to drop the gunblade almost vertically between his body and John's sword.

Horrified, John realized that he had just struck out at his own instructor and he took a couple steps backward. Seifer struck out in that moment, and John found a gunblade pointed at his throat.

"You're worse then I thought you'd be, and more disappointing," Seifer said as he removed his sword from John's throat, "Who gave that to you? Your father as a going away present?"

John's anger flashed through his body and he lashed out with his sword in an attack, "I earned it!" he snarled.

The attack was stopped by a very not amused Seifer, who stuck back with a stab of his own, but John expected it as he used Parting the Silk to block the strike before Cutting the Clouds was aimed at his wrist, but Seifer stepped back and out of John's range.

"So you can be angered," Seifer mused.

"You're about to find out!" John shouted as he rushed forward and began using the attack called Striking the Sparks, a constant series of overhead attacks meant to wear an opponent down with brute strength. All of which Seifer blocked with apparent ease and without strain.

John knew that if he kept this up, he would become extremely predictable, and get cut down for all of his effort. After his last attack, he lashed upward with his blade in Tower of the Morning, but Seifer was expecting something like this and he used the extra time it took for John to get into position to quickly punch John in the face.

Staggering backwards from the force of the blow, John was even angrier. No one had touched him with _anything_ in almost two years! He was getting careless. With one last heave, John jabbed for Seifer's heart. Seifer, though, entwined his blade with John's and then, with one mighty jerk, pulled John's sword from his hands.

Seifer pointed the tip of his sword at John's throat again, "You hesitate against someone who attacks you, you are angered easily, and you attack with raw power and expect it to work. Also, I've managed to hit you three times, twice of which would have been lethally. I don't know who it was who presented you that blade, but you have a lot to lean before you are put up to blademaster status," Seifer said.

Seifer bent down and picked up John's bare sword, "I will keep this until I think that you have actually earned that Heron Mark, Cadet Call," Seifer said.

John's mouth dropped open. He had spent longer then he would care to think about earning that weapon, and now this _traitor_ was going to judge _him?_

Seifer started making for the door, but before he got there he stopped and said, "Oh yes. You attacked me. You will have a weeks worth of detentions for that, you are dismissed."

John worked his mouth in silent rage, eyes wide until Seifer disappeared from sight. That was when he realized that a whole group of students had stopped talking amongst themselves and were looking at John with interest. Eyes still in shock, John walked out of the Training Center and into the halls.


	7. Chapter 7: Detention

Chapter 7: Detention

John wandered back into his dorm room in a daze. It figured that the Instructor has picked his number to mess with, and now, he knew it was unlikely that that jerk would let up now that he had not only beat but disarmed John so easily.

_He took my sword!_ John thought furiously.

Walking through the door, John was surprised to see the presence of not only Harrison his roommate, but also Lori Gray and Ashley Lawton from just down the halls.

"Uh, hello?" he asked seeing all of them sitting in the common room's furniture.

"Howdy there John!" Ashley said with a friendly wave, "We was wonderin' when you'd show up!"

John nodded to his roommate and smiled at Lori, "Yeah, had some problems in my last class."

"What happened?" Lori asked, interested.

"I got an extra week's worth of detentions," he replied, "From Seifer."

"Really? So he is teaching now?" Lori asked.

"Didn't ya have a sword thar John?" Ashley asked.

"He took it," John explained silently.

"Why?" Harrison asked absently stretching his arms, probably not really interested.

"He said I didn't deserve to own a Heron Marked Blade," John explained, embarrassed, "After he attacked me, and I didn't do a good enough job of defending myself."

John slumped down onto one of the kitchen chairs, tired.

They were silently staring at him, "You could be dead," Lori noted, "From that backstabber, I wouldn't be surprised."

"He was just testing me," John said, brushing it off, "I failed. Now I just have to prove to him that I really did earn that blade and I can get it back."

"That's not gonna happen anytime soon. We still gotta do those detentions," Ashley said, "First one's tonight!"

"Nobody better mess up tomorrow," John observed dryly, "Or else we'll be doing detentions till the end we become SeeDs! Maybe even after that!

* * *

Detentions started in one of the classrooms on the second floor of the building. Of course, Ashlinn's entire squad was there in addition to several other of the new students who had stepped afoul of other people with authority.

Though half of the students expected the former Disciplinary Committee members to show up to preside over this detention, but that was not the case. Instead a new member of the Disciplinary Committee showed up who looked like a Seifer-wanna-be. He introduced himself as Dan and ordered that everybody stand up and follow him out of the room.

He lead the group of students down the stairs and out of the garden until they were a fair enough distance away from the Garden to be walking around the wet ground in absolute darkness.

"Should we be out here?" Adrian asked, "Aren't there monsters? I didn't bring my quarterstaff…"

"And this is so messing up my shoes!" Britney complained.

"Don't worry ladies!" Harrison said, flexing his muscles, "I'll protect you!"

"Quiet!" Dan growled, "We're almost there."

"Where is 'there'?" Lori asked softly.

Out of the darkness, Instructor Ashlinn and Zell Dincht appeared startling several of the students. They came to a halt silent as they did not know what to expect.

"Tonight you are all here because you have done something to warrant punishment," Instructor Ashlinn began, "And tonight is where you will make right your wrongs."

"You will each be digging a hole six feet deep, six feet long and four feet wide," Zell said, "You can leave when you finish it."

The students groaned, but nobody refused the punishment, not even the pudgy Login Hawthorne. Spaced about ten feet apart from each other, the students began digging into the cold ground with spades given to them by their instructors.

They worked in silence, and despite the cold air John found himself working up a sweat and took off the jacket he was wearing. Removing that much dirt was extremely difficult for the man from Trabia, as the ground was usually frozen in Trabia so there wasn't much in the way of landscaping that usually happened.

"How did we get stuck doing detention duty?" Zell asked Instructor Ashlinn, "This was Squall's idea, wasn't it?"

Ashlinn only scowled at him.

Finally after two and a half hours, the first person finished with their hole. It was a very muddy Harrison Locke who came out of the ground after getting approval from Instructor Ashlinn, but she told him to get back in the hole and summoned everybody over.

"This is where mistakes lead you," Ashlinn said, "Six feet under. Every time you make a mistake in combat, you have killed somebody. SeeDs do not make mistakes because we do not tolerate the people who make them. Those of you who do not learn how to change will not stay at the Garden, and will not become SeeDs. Is this clear?"

"Yes Instructor Ashlinn," the students echoed.

"Good. You can fill up your hole now Cadet Locke, and then you may go," Ashlinn said, "The rest of you will finish your holes and then call us over to inspect them."

Harrison looked ready to say something, but when Ashlinn crooked an eyebrow, and he began filling in his hole in silence. John and everybody else walked back to their holes and began digging even quieter then before, if that was possible.

It took John another forty five minutes to finish his hole, and a half hour to fill the hole back in. After he finished, John looked off toward the blazing lights of the Garden with envy. He looked back, and for a moment caught a flash of white in the darkness, and John looked harder into the darkness, but couldn't see what it had been.

_Must be too tired_, John thought before he walked off toward the school.

* * *

Seifer Almasy stood with his arms crossed, watching the students from the darkness. Knowing that this technically went against Squall's orders to stay inside of the Garden, he realized that he shouldn't have worn his trench cloak as it stood out in the darkness. That new instructor, Ashlinn, had the right idea. She wore black, all of the time.

He had come out tonight just to watch what his old job had been, but he had never done such unique detentions. He should have thought about something like that sooner…

Knowing that lingering outside the Garden could prove costly to his position, Seifer knew that the person he had been there to watch was gone now. Seifer was not sure why he had snuck out of Garden to watch this kid, but he was sure it was something about the kid. He seemed so familiar…

Well, he would have time to figure it out later. Turning, the former Sorceress Knight left for his room.


	8. Chapter 8: Expectations

_Final Fantasy does not belong to me. It belongs to Squaresoft or Square-enix or whatever they're calling themselves these days. _

Chapter 8: Expectations

_I need a sword_ John thought tiredly as he sat down on his bed. He began to unbutton the jacket to his uniform that he usually wore. It also occurred to him that in about four hours he would have to get up and go to Instructor Ashlinn's mandatory physical training.

In the middle of pulling off his shirt, John put his head down and fell asleep a few moments after his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Squall was another person who was up late that night. Fingers interlaced in front of his face and suppressed a sigh. Xu was equally tired and rubbed her eyes with palms of her hand.

"Run this by me again," Squall ordered, rubbing his temple, "International politics were never my strong suite."

Xu sighed tiredly, "After Edea and Deling abdicated their power in Galbadia the military has taken full control of that country and for the past few months has been in a state of martial law."

"Right, I understand that. But why are they still in this high alert state? Usually any country will try to at least maintain the appearance of peace not lock down the country for months on end."

"That's what everybody is so concerned about. Something has the Galbadians spooked and Esthar must have some idea as to what that is because they remain at a heightened state of alert. As though to complicate it, both countries have begun major war games and field training."

"So it's some saber rattling, what's the big deal? So long as they don't actually attack each other there are no problems. And even if they _do_ attack each other SeeD gets involved somewhere and that's where our next paycheck comes from," Squall said dismissively.

"Can you really be so uncaring?" Xu said incredulously, "Another Sorceress' War? The reason you and so many others were orphaned was _because_ of that war. You want to repeat it?"

Squall shrugged, "Whatever."

"It's not just the two superpowers, but other regions in the world are beginning to flare up. Because Galbadia and Esthar are so preoccupied with each other, they have no time to police Trabia and Centra, and those populations are beginning to become restless," Xu said.

"Restless how?" Squall asked.

"The Trabians are trying to rebuild their Garden after the missile attacks, but their aid package from Esthar has been slashed to almost nothing. _That_ Garden was the center of education, medical help, and military assistance to all of the nomadic villages in Trabia. Without that assistance the villages are forced to fend for themselves. The increased number of monsters in the region following the most recent Lunar Cry and lack of many skilled medical personal has forced the locals to become anxious and suspicious. Most villages are closed up in fear and hunger."

"SeeD is not a humanitarian organization," Squall said, "That is not my concern. Tell Laguna about it. What about Centra?"

"The situation there is even worse," Xu said, "While Trabia is beginning to get uneasy, the citizens that live in _that_ wasteland are on the verge of rebellion. The weak government has been unable to do anything without Galbadian support, and is on the verge of being overthrown for a more decisive form of government."

Squall's interest perked up, "Are they interested in assistance from SeeD?" he asked.

"Who? The government or the rebels?"

"Either."

Xu frowned at him, "Not very ethical," she noted.

Squall shrugged, "We're mercenaries, and we follow the money."

"To be honest, I don't know. I haven't heard anything from either side about assistance from SeeD."

"Find out. Send some people down there and have them see if we can't be of assistance. The money is beginning grow thin," Squall said, "In the meantime keep an eye on this Galbadia-Esthar situation. I want you to find out what's got everybody so on edge lately."

"Yes, sir," Xu said standing up. It was late, and she had a class to instruct in a few hours.

* * *

John's eyes snapped open as he heard the footsteps come into his room. Looking up he saw the enormous bulk of Harrison standing in the doorway, who stopped moving when he saw that John was awake, "It's time to go," he said drowsily.

John nodded and moved to get out of bed, only to stop as an enormous amount of soreness shot through his body. Pain erupted along his arms, his abs, and his back. When he tried to stand up, his legs cramped up and he fell to the floor with a loud _thump_. Quickly and instinctively calling on the void to help fight the pain, John slowly began to work feeling back into his limbs and stand up.

Throwing on the work out clothes that had been issued to him, the two quickly moved out of their dorm room and down the hall to join the small river of cadets who were rubbing their eyes and stretching their sore muscles to make their way down to the parade grounds in front of the Garden.

"Hey Call!" John heard someone behind him shout and he groaned inwardly. He recognized the voice of Login Hawthorne easily enough by now.

He stopped and turned around to look at the pudgy cadet as his beady eyes narrowed on John's face, "I'll bet you think you're hot stuff," he said, "Carrying around that sword like you do. Yeah I know what it means, alright. You think you're better then the rest of us, don't you? Well I got news for you, you're nothing! Worthless!"

Instantly Adrian and Chad were in between Login and John, the two frowning at both John and Login.

"Chill out y'all!" Ashley Lawton hissed, "You're gonna get us in a heap of trouble!"

"I don't know what the deal is with you guys," Chad said, "But you gotta get over it and quick."

"I didn't do anything!" John protested, "_He's_ the one trying to pick a fight!"

"Cool it!" Adrian snapped, "We're going to be late."

Without another word John turned on his heel and stormed down the hallway and out onto the parade grounds.

Physical Training that morning was much like it was yesterday, but the tension was so thick that John was sure that second and fourth squads on either side of him were choking on it. Remarkably Britney Jenkins managed to show up on time, for once. John suspected that she had not slept at all last night, but had instead gone right to the showers and make-up kit.

"This concludes PT for the day," Instructor Ashlinn said, "All of you have Social class with Instructor Xu today. I suggest you take that class seriously, because learning how to act like a SeeD is as important to you as learning how to fight like a SeeD. Dismissed."

An extremely exhausted third squad stumbled back into the Garden, some of them going for the cafeteria while others made for their dorms in order to catch a couple extra hours of sleep before Xu's class.

John's body ached for sleep, but his hunger overcame that desire and he limped into the cafeteria and stood in line for his ration of eggs, bacon, and something that looked like a combination of liver and mud. It tasted about as well as it looked.

Plopping down into a seat, John began eating his food with gusto. So hungry was he that he did not notice when Adrian and Johnson sat down next to him. He looked up startled as the two looked at him.

"Hello," he said as he shoveled another spork full of eggs into his mouth.

"What is Hawthorne's problem with you?" Johnson asked, "Because if this is going to keep causing problems for our squad, we should know about them."

John shrugged and kept eating, "He tried to beat me up the day I first got here, in the Training Center during the initial test."

Chad and Adrian exchanged looks, "What was that he was talking about with your sword?" Adrian asked.

John looked up and met them in their eyes, he could tell he would have to explain the significance of the Heron Mark now, "In Trabia every town has a defender named a blademaster. Every blademaster has an apprentice who learns the art of protecting the village from attack, enforcing the laws, that kind of thing. The badge of that office is the sword I used, the Heron Marked Blade. I was the apprentice until recently, when the Blade…became mine."

Chad nodded, "I had heard a little bit about what that meant. But doesn't that mean you're your village's blademaster and guardian?"

John frowned, he was wondering when that would be brought up, "In a manner of speaking."

"Then why aren't you there?" Adrian asked.

John shrugged, "They don't need my help at the moment," he said as he stood up, "I gotta get ready for class, so if we're done here…?"

"Yeah, of course," Chad Johnson said waving his hand in dismissal.

* * *

"The importance of having adequate social skills cannot be overlooked when on a mission. Most of the time SeeDs are sent into an area in small groups as special operators and are expected to maintain their cover. Being suspicious in your behavior or in your speech can and often will result in your cover being blown, and result in the death or capture of you and your team. This course will instruct you how to maintain your cover while under scrutiny," Instructor Xu explained when she started the course, "Questions?"

There were none, and that prompted the Instructor to move on to her next point, "One of the most simple ways of getting information out of a person is to be patient. To start a conversation up with them and listen to them complain and vent. You'd be surprised how much a person is willing to vent on a complete stranger. Once that happens you can easily steer the conversation into a topic that you are more interested in, subtly of course, and you'll only be able to get bits and pieces of the big picture least you rouse suspicion…"

* * *

John decided that he was going to dislike Social Skills class, just because it was so foreign to what his tasks usually were. He disliked misleading people like that, since where he was from trust was taken very seriously. Still tired, John decided that he would really need to get his new sword before his class with Seifer tomorrow morning.

Luckily for John, he had heard about a shop in Balamb itself that sold weapons, and he was lucky enough to catch a ride with a slightly older cadet who was from Balamb itself who was going in to visit family.

"So you're from Trabia huh?" the older student asked, "I hear it's pretty cold up there. Could never do it, Balamb hardly gets cold so I think I would probably freeze."

John nodded, "It's too hot here. I'm not used to it, I feel like I'm breathing air that's heavier then water."

The older cadet laughed, "You'll get used to it," he said.

"I hope so," John murmured, not just referring to the heat.

The bell to the store rang as John pushed open the door. The pudgy shopkeeper came out of the back of the shop to stand behind the counter, "Can I help you?" he asked politely with a friendly smile.

"I need a sword," John said looking around for a weapon that he would find useful.

"A sword huh? We don't get too many people who want a base weapon. Most people just want to upgrade their current weapons, but let me see what I can find."

The man disappeared into the back room for a few moments before reappearing with a couple long cardboard boxes in his arms.

"You're in luck," the shopkeeper said, "I happen to have a couple models in stock."

He produced the first sword, a double edged blade with engravings up and down the length of the blade, "This is the Chillend. It's enchanted so that it will freeze an opponent when it touches their flesh. Great for stopping monsters in their tracks! It's going for a mere two thousand and twenty five gil!"

John blanched visibly and shook his head, telling the shopkeeper to move on.

"No? Alright, this next sword is called the Flametounge. A single edged blade with a red tint that causes an extra amount of fire damage upon strike! Send your enemies and random monsters into a fiery death using this sword, going for an easy eighteen hundred gil!"

John sighed, "Do you have anything that doesn't have enchantments in it?" he asked.

"Of course, here is a fine steel sword with a hilt made out of solid brass. Great for a beginner to the sword and for practice. An easy five hundred gil!"

"I'm sorry," John said, "But it's a little out of my price range."

The shopkeeper looked confused, "What exactly is your price range?" he asked harshly.

John produced his wallet and dumped a handful of gil on the table, "Fifty three gil," he said sadly.

The shopkeeper threw his hands into the air, walked back into the shop again and returned with a sword that was dirty with a torn sheath and a cracked wooden hilt, "Forty five gil," the man said grumpily, and John handed him the money and walked out of the store with his new weapon.

* * *

Back in his dorm room, John dug into his footlocker for his sword cleaning kit that he had brought with him from Trabia. The weapon that he had bought was in even worse condition then he had initially thought.

The blade was dull and rusty with numerous dings and dents made into the sides and edges. The handle was made out of old wood and looked like it was about to fall apart of dry rot. There was, however a glimmer of hope for the forlorn blade. Even though the blade was rusty and dented, the steel itself was strong and must have been forged by a master craftsman a long time ago. John suspected that it had probably been used by a soldier during the Sorceress' War twenty years ago, and been rusting in somebody's basement ever since.

First John removed the blade from the handle, so that he could inspect the damage done to the handle and the tang of the blade. The handle nearly crumpled in his hand when he removed it from the blade. John produced a small ceramic bottle and popped the cork off of the top of it. The fluid inside was a combination of oil and an aloe gathered from a plant near John's village. It, combined with an intense amount of axel grease, would most likely get all of the rust off of the blade.

As he worked on the blade, he stared disdainfully at the handle. He doubted that the wood would hold up to his attempts to put it back together, much less if he tried to block with it. Glaring, John continued to work on the blade and the steel until all of the rust was off and then he began to use a small file on the dents and edges to bring the blade back into a straight edge.

Producing a stone about the size of a remote control and a bottle of honing oil, John began to run the sword along the stone after he applied some of the honing oil to the stone. Careful to make sure he had the correct angle, John tediously ran the blade both ways down the wet-stone, turning the dull blade much sharper.

After a couple hours, the result was amazing. The weapon he had purchased had gone from a dull rusty nail to a sharp blade with a dull shine to it. The only thing left for John to fix was the handle of the blade, but just as he thought the damage to it was beyond repair. It crumbled into mulch when he tried to force it back together.

Looking at the clock, John realized just how long he had been working. It was late, and the sky outside was dark. Unsure about what to do about a sword without a handle, John decided to get out of his dorm room for a while and walk around the Garden.

Of course John had forgotten about curfew, and that it was strictly enforced. No students allowed in the halls, but it was practically a tradition to for the students to break that rule anyway.

_Besides_, John reasoned, _It's up to the disciplinary committee to enforce curfew now, and there are not many of them around_.

The halls were well lit, even though it was after hours. The silence of the building was deafening, almost unnatural, but it gave John the perfect mood in which to think. The most likely replacement for his handle would be something else made from wood, but wood had a way of warping and rotting, just like it had. In addition, the making of such a handle would take an enormous amount of time, which John did not have. The solution would have to be something else, but John was unsure as to what.

Suddenly John heard footsteps, and whipped his head around to see Daniel, the man who had been at last night's detention. A disciplinary committee member. He was walking around the circle that went around the Garden's central atrium, where John was. John was over by the entrance to the quad, whereas Daniel was still over by the cafeteria entrance.

Deciding against ducking down into the quad because Daniel would surly see him move, he instead ducked down behind the fountain and moved silently toward the entrance hall. Sneaking down the stairs, John came to the "Welcome" booth and turnstiles when he saw the beam of a flashlight in the darkness ahead of him. On the verge of panic now, John jumped into the booth that was to his right and ducked under the desk that was inside. Footsteps came up to the booth and then passed by without stopping.

Breathing easier, John stood up and glanced over the counter when behind him he heard a door open up. Spinning John looked in surprise to see the old man who usually sat behind the counter open the door.

"I keep tellin' em' to check my booth," the old man grumped, rubbing his eyes, "But I guess they don't listen."

Speechless John just stared, caught like a deer in the headlights. He briefly considered running, but he knew that that would only put him right into the disciplinary committee's hands.

"Well don't stare at me like that boy. You look like you've just seen a ghost. Now I may be old, but I'm not dead. Not yet."

John closed his open mouth and continued to remain silent, unsure what to do.

"You might as well come in here then," the man said, "I'll fix ya up a warm cup o' tea or play ya in a game of triple triad or some such. Then ya can tell me what's got ya wanderin' around the halls at this late hour."

"You're not going to report me?" John said in disbelief with a little bit of hope rising.

"No, no. I never liked reporting students to the faculty; those guys gave me the willies. I guess I just can't do it now. Don't have the heart to," The old man said as he walked into the room behind the booth.

"This is where you sleep?" John asked surprised, "I had no idea there was a room here."

"Most people don't, and I'd prefer to keep it that way," the old man said as he pushed a stack of tools off of his chair, "Now why don't you tell me why you're wandering around the halls at this hour in the morning. And don't tell me that you were trying to go to the secret area, that's in the complete opposite direction."

"What secret area?" John asked, suspecting the answer.

"Well I'll be darned, somebody who doesn't know about the secret area? Well if I tell ya, then it's not a secret. Now don't sidetrack me, why are you up this late? Most of you plebes stockpile sleep as much as possible."

John decided that it would be offensive to lie to the man about his reasons for being out, so he told about how he was trying to think of a way to replace a handle on a sword he had just been restoring for use. Noting his reasons for being unable to come up with a buyable solution, John concluded stating that he needed it for Seifer's class the next day.

"Almasy's class huh? Never did like that kid. Too arrogant and always waving that sword of his around and bullying the younger students. Worse even when he got involved with Rinoa woman, always trying to duck class to go to Timber only to be unable to find her because she was 'in hiding.' Some young men will do anything to get attention from women, so what does he do? He signs himself up with Edea! Now he's back here and I don't know why Headmaster Leonhart puts up with it!"

John nodded his head along and listened to the old man's rambling. He had no idea who Rinoa was or why she was in hiding all the time, but he figured that information would come in use.

"Right, about your handle for the sword I think I have just the thing to replace it. In addition to my duties as Balamb Garden's greeter, I do some repairs on the side. Nothing large like what those guys from Fisherman's Horizon do, but small things. How about you go give me what you have, the blade and such and I'll have it ready for you before your class with Almasy tomorrow. How does that sound?"

John blanched, not able to believe his good fortune, but was skeptical.

"Why would you do that for me? Somebody you don't even know," John asked.

The old man paused for a moment before answering, "I am just an old man, boy. I have already lived, so anything I can do to help this next generation get by easier I will do. Besides, you remind me a lot of him."

"Who?"

"Almasy," the old man said with a grin.

"But I thought you didn't like him!" John protested.

"Did I now? It's true he's done a lot to deserve that, but you remind me of him when he first showed up. Maybe you can show him how to succeed where he failed."

* * *

The next day, after a blessedly sound night of sleep, John stood at attention for the final formation after PT. The day had been remarkably light, a long distance jog from Balamb Garden to the town and back again followed up by an few alternating exercise like push ups and flutter kicks.

Indeed, even Ashlinn seemed more subdued that morning as she briskly told everybody to, "Make your classes and do your homework," before dismissing them all to showers and breakfast.

John stopped at the old man's welcome booth near the entrance of the Garden and rapped on the glass. After a few moments, the door behind the desk opened and the old man poked his head out. Spotting John he grinned and ducked back into the room before coming back out with John's sword.

Gaping at the weapon, John automatically grabbed it and began looking it over. The handle was forged directly with the blade, meaning that the old man had welded the . The handle itself was made out of some sort of metal which balanced the blade perfectly. Also, the old man had applied rubber to the handle so that his grip would not slip.

"How did you do all of this?" John asked, "It's extremely well done."

"I've seen my share of sword making in my day, sonny. I'm afraid I can't put herons on it though, so you'll just have to find them yourself."

John looked up, shocked. He had never told the old man about his rank as blademaster, or that his former weapon had been a Heron Marked Blade.

"Don't look so surprised. I'm old but not deaf. I hear things around here, and I know what happened between you and Seifer. Now listen to this sonny, Seifer maybe an upstart varmint if I ever saw one, but he is good with a blade. Very good and he'll cut you to ribbons if you don't improve yourself, got it?"

John nodded and put the blade away into the scabbard, "Thank you very much. If there is anything I can do for you…"

"There isn't," the old man grunted, "Just take my advice to heart."

John nodded and gave him a handshake before walking off. There was no way he could get any better, of course, since being blademaster was the pinnacle, so he didn't know what the old man was babbling about. What on earth could he improve?

* * *

"Present your weapons!" Seifer said loudly as he marched through the door. A furry of clanking and creaking of leather met the blonde haired man's entry.

"Feroas, have you found a more suitable weapon?" Almasy he asked, standing in front of the man who had brought a rapier to last meeting.

"Yes Instructor Almasy," Leon Feroas said as he produced a long sword.

"Better, much better," Seifer said, "But we'll see if you can actually use it."

He moved on to the next students in much the same fashion until he came to John and his newly repaired, polished, and sharpened blade.

"Cadet Call, you must have more blades then a Deling City mugger," Seifer said, "I like yours by the way, it makes a nice addition to my collection."

John stifled a reply and remained silent and the smirk on Seifer's face slowly began to slide off, "I hope you have kept up on your form, because you are terrible and don't have a snowball's chance in the Fire Cavern of passing this class unless I see remarkable improvement, you got that?"

John was only further outraged, but he replied meekly, "Yes Instructor Almasy, I will get better."

"Good," Seifer said before going back to the front of the class, "I never liked textbooks, and this class is not meant to be taught out of one. Every other class will be conducted in the Training Center unless I tell you otherwise. Are we clear?"

"Yes Instructor Almasy," the class echoed.

"Good. We're going down there now where I will attempt to show you the proper way to hold a sword. Hopefully today we can figure out which end is the sharp end and which end you hold the blade with. Now let's get going."

In the Training Center, Seifer organized the students into pairs, "Each pair will fight each other for about three minutes. Then I'll show you what not to do, understood?"

"Yes Instructor Almasy," the class returned and he pointed to Leon and one other student who had a heavy gunblade in his hands and motioned for them to stand and face each other.

The two students faced each other in the middle of the clearing, brushing the moss and dirt aside. The two faced each other, each not sure how to start the fight or what to do once the fight started.

"Come on!" Seifer shouted, "If the other man was your enemy then you would be dead by now!"

Finally the boy with the gunblade stepped forward and attacked with a powerful overhead blow that would have split Leon's skull if the boy had not blocked. The two traded blows for about a couple minutes until Seifer finally stepped in.

"Terrible for both of you, I was at least reasonably sure that _one_ of you knew how to hold a sword. First of all, Leon was too stiff reacting to the attacks by overcompensating his attacks and not following through on his attacks. You on were throwing all of your weight behind your attacks…"

And so it went, the students paired off and kept attacking each other until finally John stepped forward and faced off against a tall man who carried an equally long sword. The larger man attacked first, which John parried with a quick tight cut before pushing the larger sword away and then striking with a thrust for the man's chest, stopping only a few inches from the man's skin.

John flowed backwards and into Lion on a Hill again, waiting for the man's attack. The big man glanced down in surprise at where John's sword would have gone through his skin and killed him.

"You move with too much exaggeration," Seifer said to the big guy, "And I told you to fight for three minutes cadet Call. You finished the match too quickly."

That was how things went for the next hour, the different students would stand there and spar against one another noting each other's mistakes and strengths until everyone had spared against everybody else. A couple times students accidentally cut each other, which Seifer said would help the students remember their mistakes better. If it was real serious, then the former Sorceress' Knight would give potions to the wounded student.

Most students managed to 'win' one or two of the matches, but remarkably John won every single time. This earned him a certain elevated status among the class, who were beginning to regard him with a certain amount of awe. Seifer picked up on this and after it looked like it would be over, he stepped in the center of the circle.

"Cadet Call, if you would be so kind to join me here, you are clearly too skilled for these entry level students here. I would like to see you up against a seasoned veteran."

John was surprised that Seifer would challenge him to another duel so soon, but he was ready this time. He had spent the past several days trying to figure out what had gone wrong and knew what it was. He had been to inconsistent last time, first not attacking at all and then going all out caught in a rage. He would not get so enraged this time, and he began to prepare his mind against anything Seifer would use against him.

Stepping into the circle, John drew his sword it's grip unfamiliar in his hands but he let that slide into the void that was beginning to grow in the center of his brain. John was one with the sword in his hands, one with the world around him, and one with his opponent. Seifer must have picked up on the change in John's demeanor because he relaxed visibly and John realized that the man must have some similar trick that he used.

On guard, John simply stared into Seifer's eyes and waited for him to move. The eyes usually gave away what a person was going to do. Suddenly like a snake Seifer's Hyperion lashed out as he sprinted toward stationary John. Spinning his blade around in his hands, John used Parting the Silk to knock the sword away. But Seifer just came back at him, forcing John to stay on the defensive. Realizing that this would eventually wear him down, John knocked the heavier Hyperion away to his right and then rolled away from it to his left, striking out with his sword toward Seifer's leg.

Amazingly, Seifer did not move, but took the blow to his leg. John completed his roll and stood back up using his momentary advantage to jump into Striking the Spark in an attempt to overpower his teacher. Seifer blocked the powerful overhead blows and John realized that he was leaving himself open so he danced backwards. Seifer was slow to follow him, and John wondered just how badly he had cut his teacher.

"You've been practicing," Seifer said, "But you're still holding back, that will kill you in real life."

John danced in close after he batted away the attack from Seifer, and using Wind Blows over the Wall stuck both the man's wrist and lashed out for Seifer's chest, as he had done in the first match. The sudden thought of victory blooming in John's mind, shock registered a few moments later when he suddenly felt Seifer's free hand land in his stomach, catching him by surprise.

Still reeling backwards from that, John looked in horror as Seifer whirled around and threaded his sword in between John's body and his attempts to block. The blow sent John backwards off of his feet, and to his horror he realized that Hyperion had actually cut along his chest.

The void shattered in shock and he cried out in pain, looking down at his neatly sliced chest. Clamping his teeth shut, John looked up into the eyes of Seifer Almasy with shock on his face.

"You keep using the old forums, Cadet Call," Seifer said, "And you will never get better unless you learn to move beyond those. Your old master is the last in a long line of blademasters because they never learned to adapt, and you'll perish just like them unless you relearn how to use the blade."

Seifer looked down on his blade and whipped the blood on it off onto the trench coat that he was wearing, "You should probably get to the Infirmary with that injury," Seifer said before turning to the students, "You all are free to go," he said before he turned and left the Training Center.

John still in shock, passed into darkness as the students of the class swarmed in around him.


	9. Chapter 9: Changes

Chapter 9: Excuses

John swam in and out of consciousness, his mind slipping into darkness after brief flashes of light and vision. When he was awake, the memories of his humiliation had come back to haunt him, and he slipped away again into the dark recesses of his mind.

Finally, he opened his eyes a last time to see Dr. Kadowaki standing over him, the husky physician looking down at him.

"How do you feel?" she asked him as she peered down into a clipboard she was holding.

John thought about that one, "I'm…fine," he said.

"That's good to hear. You should be alright to go back to your dorm now, I'm afraid that you'll have a scar though. I'm not surprised though, Seifer has had a history of injuring the people he trains with."

John looked down at his chest to see long pale scar draped up his chest. Well, unlike his roommate, he did not like taking his shirt off for the benefit of the ladies anyway.

Sitting up, he noted that his sword was sitting sheathed in the corner of the room. That gave him a measure of relief, because he had been sure that Seifer would have taken that one too, just to prove his point.

Angry now, he did not realize that Dr. Kadowaki had spoken until after she had finished, and then he blinked and refocused on her.

"I said you can leave whenever you feel ready," she said.

"Where's Seifer?" John asked coldly.

* * *

"I warned you!" Squall said harshly, "You were here a _week_, just one, and you managed to injure a student. Why?"

Seifer stood with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, across the room and disarmed under the watchful eyes of Irvine and Quistis. He shrugged causally, "It's not like I killed him. I was instructing him how to properly use a weapon, that's all. So what if he got injured? He'll recover."

"That's not the point!" Squall snapped, slamming his palm down on the desktop, "You were on thin ice to begin with, but now you decided to test just how thin that ice was!"

"You haven't changed a bit, Seifer," Quistis said softly, "And that's too bad."

Seifer's eyes narrowed dangerously, "It was _because_ of who I am that got me through everything alive, _Instructor_," he said with a sneer.

Quistis took a step toward Seifer, and slapped him across the face. Seifer's head snapped to the side, and he turned back as sly grin forming across his face, "I'll bet you've wanted to do that for a while," he said.

"Yes, I have," she replied coldly.

"I hope that you didn't get to used to living in civilization again," Squall commented from the desk, satisfaction in his voice, "Because you're going right back out of the Garden, immediately."

Seifer's eyebrows came together in a dangerous scowl, "Oh really? Well you know what you can do with your civilization?"

"Yeah, what's that?" Squall said angrily.

Seifer opened his mouth to reply when the double doors to the Headmaster's office swung inward, pushed by John as he shoved his way past Squall's stern looking secretary.

Sword attached to his belt, John came in and snapped to attention in front of Squall's desk.

Quistis was shocked at the ease at which the new cadet simply strolled in to the room, and opened her mouth to reprimand the student, but John cut her off speaking to Squall.

"Sir, it is my fault that I was injured while Instructor Almasy was showing me how to properly use a sword. It would not be right if you were to kick him out of the Garden for a mistake I made."

This time, everybody's eyebrows shot up in astonishment, including Seifer's. Squall opened his mouth and said carefully, "You're sure about that?"

"Absolutely, I became overconfident against Instructor Almasy and careless, so it was my fault."

"I see…" Squall said as he sat down into the chair that was behind his desk, "Didn't you carry a different sword when you first showed up here? A blue one with a carving of a bird on the blade and hilt?"

John said nothing, but gave a slight nod as he looked into Squall's intent blue gaze.

"I know what that little carving means, though most people here would not. When you get that, you are never 'careless' as you put it. So that means one of two things, either Seifer was at fault, or you are not a blademaster. Which is it?" Squall demanded, gaze narrowing.

John felt that he had been pushed into a corner, and he knew he was trapped. He knew that Seifer could teach him how to use a sword with such power, make him stronger then before. But that would do him no good if the ex-Sorceress' Knight was kicked out of Garden, unable to teach him. Sighing, John knew what he had to do.

"I'm not a blademaster," John said, much calmer then he thought he would. There, he had just disowned his entire past to save the man who he was sure absolutely hated him.

John felt as though a heavy burden had been taken off of his shoulders, all the expectation that had come with carrying that blade was lifted now, and he felt free. That is, until he saw the stormy look in Squall's eyes.

"You're not," Squall said flatly, "Well then I guess I have no choice but to let Seifer stay, for now. The only reason I'm not kicking you out of the Garden, John, is because so far your instructors say that you show enormous promise for being here for such a short time. Don't get injured again, dismissed."

Irvine cleared his throat, and looked at Squall expectantly and Squall waved him to speak, "I just had an idea. Didn't you want to send some scouts to Centra to offer SeeD's services down there?"

Squall frowned, "Yes, but what does that have to do with this?"

"John has been doing well in his studies while he's been here, I think that we should send him on the team that would be going to see how he handles himself in the field. I think Seifer should go too, so that he can continue to instruct him since apparently he doesn't know one end of the sword from the other."

"What?!" Seifer and John shouted in unison.

Squall too seemed surprised, "And what's to stop another 'accident' from happening?"

Irvine gave a grin and tipped his cowboy hat back, "We should send Nida and Selphie with them. They've been itching to find something to do since they're not instructing, I'm sure that they'll jump on the opportunity and keep anything bad from happening to them."

"Selphie?" Seifer asked, "Isn't that that messenger girl?"

Irvine grinned, "Yes, that's exactly who it is."

John looked in confusion between Seifer and Irvine, but remained silent.

Squall grinned, "Yes that sounds like a good idea to me. John, you are hereby ordered to accompany SeeDs Nida, Selphie, and Instructor Almasy to Centra."

Seifer looked like he was considering leaving the Garden for good, rather then go on this trip.


	10. Chapter 10: Centra

Chapter 10: Centra

Nida really hated this assignment, more then any other assignment he had ever been given. Not only did he have to share the cramped space of a train compartment with Selphie but he also had to be next to _Seifer_. He had no idea how he was going to prevent Seifer from strangling the girl when he wanted to himself half the time. To make matters worse, some young cadet was coming along who kept staring daggers at Seifer, as though he wanted to kill the man on the spot.

_Hyne_, he thought, _who's brilliant idea was it leaving me in charge of an expedition where all the members want to kill each other? _

"Oh I just love Trains!" Selphie said bouncing up and down in the small confines of the private compartment they had, "They are just so _awesome!" _her voice rose to a loud screech at the end.

"We know that!" Seifer hissed, "You haven't shut up about TRAINS since we left! Why don't you go plan a festival or something?"

"Hey!" Selphie said, her hands on her hips, "That's not nice!"

"No kidding?" Seifer growled.

Nida tuned both of them out and looked down at the folder he had on his lap. It was a briefing of the current situation in Centra. For centuries, Centra had been a remarkable civilization, a place where Guardian Forces and humans coexisted. Roughly eighty years ago, a Lunar Cry hit Centra and wiped out most of the civilization. The landmass was now barren, either rocky and unsuitable for farming or desert with no water. The monsters that roamed the deserts and barren landscape discouraged settlers as much as the harsh environment, but with the onset of the Sorceress' War twenty years ago, refugees and bandits began to hide on the shattered continent, populating it again.

Recently, these bandits, outlaws, and refugees began to band together creating an unstable form of government. The Republic of Centra , they called themselves, but it was hardly an efficient form of government. The central government was kept intentionally weak, because the settlers feared what happened when too much power was in the hands of one person. The power that sorceress Adel held truly frightened them, it seemed. The different regions were centered around small settlements who were constantly in conflict with each other over anything and everything from access to drinking water to disagreement over where the local militia were supposed to patrol for monsters.

It all meant that Nida was leading an expedition into a region that was ready to explode, and he feared that his offer of military assistance would only provoke the region into civil war.

"Will you two shut up!?" Nida finally snapped at Selphie and Seifer, "If we're going to do this right we're going to have to learn to get along together!"

"Yeah right," all three of the other people in the room scoffed.

Nida threw up his hands, "Then just let me do the talking when we get to Centra, alright?"

"Aww," Selphie groaned.

Nida was going to _kill_ Squall when he got back for putting him on this expedition.

* * *

The four SeeD scouts finally arrived at their destination: Gilgamesh City the largest settlement on the continent, and the only one with a train station. Though the central government had been trying to build a regional railway for safer travel, so far it had only resulted in bickering among regional governors.

As they disembarked from the train, Selphie said excitably, "It's so wonderful that they have a train station here! And that they made a tunnel under the ocean from Galbadia for that purpose!"

"Don't sound so excited," the ticket taker said dully, "It's rigged with explosives so that the government can disconnect it, should an invasion force attempt to use it."

"Oh…" Selphie said somewhat deflated.

The walked out of the train station for a distance down some of the main roads, the city seemed to be built out of sandy roads that happened to be where the buildings were not. The buildings themselves were built from solid metal or sandy colored bricks, so that they blended in nicely with the landscape around them.

"Right, now this is supposed to be a clandestine operation, we do not approach anyone of an official capacity until we can be sure that our reception will be favorable, so we're doing some undercover work."

"What does that mean?" the cadet asked. Nida thought his name was John something…

"It means that first we are splitting up into two groups who will keep in contact with these radios," Nida produced two handheld radios, "Newest thing out of Esthar, they have a range of fifteen miles, and they're encrypted so nobody can listen in on our conversations."

"Thank you," Seifer said snatching one of the radios that John was trying to grab at and slid it into his trench coat.

"Selphie and I will be in a team and you and John will be in a team," Nida ordered.

"How come you get to be with the only girl?" Seifer demanded.

"Because otherwise you two will be at each other's throats by nightfall!" Nida said exasperated.

"What makes you think we won't be?" John asked. He was sweating heavily now, he had been ordered not to wear his uniform, so he was wearing the same things he wore in Trabia. Clearly not a wise choice for such a hot climate.

Nida ignored the question, "Right, I suggest you two find a hotel to stay at, but first we need to get you something more weather appropriate, John," Nida said.

John nodded and whipped the sweat off his brow thankfully.

Seifer and John eventually found a hotel near the edge of the city. The Tavern keeper was a heavy man with a soiled apron spit onto the floor behind the bar when Seifer asked him how much for a room, "Twenty f ive gil a night, thirty if you want clean linen."

John had opened his mouth to argue but Seifer put his arm over to silence the cadet, "Very well," Seifer said, "Could you tell us where we might get some clothing for this reigon?"

The Tavern keeper looked at Seifer strangely then, as though he recognized him, "Don't I know you from somewheres?" he asked suspiciously.

"I was here about six months ago," Seifer answered without skipping a beat, "I remembered how nice the service here was and came back."

"Don't try to flatter me, the service ain't never been nice here. No, I know I know you from somewhere, I just can't quite remember where," the tavern keeper scratched his thinning head of hair.

Seifer sighed and pulled out an extra fifty gil, "How about you forget altogether?"

The tavern keeper grinned with missing teeth, "Okay, sure. Room's second on the left, top o' the stairs. Oh, and you can get some more...suitable clothing down the street."

Seifer nodded and took the key offered to him before leading John up to the room. After he closed the door to the small space he turned and glared at John, "Since you are following me along on your first actual field mission, you are to keep your mouth shut and do exactly what I tell you, do you understand?"

John glared at his instructor, "And what if I don't?"

Seifer grabbed John by the throat and pinned him up against a wall, "You're way out of your element here, Call. You don't even have the right clothes, you stand out like a gnat in Deling City! If you don't do as I say, then you'll probably get us all killed here. The situation here is ready to go up in smoke! The presence of SeeDs here could just spark the whole region into violence, do you understand?"

John glared, "I'll go along, with one condition."

Seifer looked like he was about to argue, but waved with his other hand, "Yes?"

"You show me how you were able to defeat me so easily."

Seifer grinned, "Is that all? Alright, deal," he let go of John's throat.

Seifer pulled out some money from the bag that Nida had given him, "Go get some clothes, and then come back here."

John looked up, "And then what do we do?" he asked.

Seifer grinned, "Then we get a drink."

* * *

John returned to the tavern dressed in something that he could only call a robe. The loose clothing and light nature allowed his skin to breath naturally, while keeping a nice flow of air through his body. Also, the hood kept the sun out of his eyes and was a good way to hide his face.

John spotted Seifer sitting at the bar, talking with one of the patrons softly. Seifer looked over and nodded for John to take a seat at a booth in the back. John nodded his understanding and slid into the seat without difficulty, from where he was sitting he was able to see everyone in the room clearly. The patrons were mostly in small groups, whispering amongst themselves, but it being early in the day there were not many patrons around.

Voices drifted to John from the next booth over, and he decided to listen in.

"Zat is not a good idea!" he heard one voice say loudly.

"Be quiet Doc! You want the entire city of Gilgamesh to hear you?" Another voice said softly, but with command, "And why isn't it a good idea?"

"Leave in ze middle of ze day? When it is hottezt? We should wait unzil tomorrow!"

"Doctor Odine is correct," came another voice at the table, "We should wait until tomorrow."

There came a sound of a fist being slammed down on a wooden table and of heavy mugs rattling on the table.

"We're not ignoring you, Ward," the second voice said, "It's just with all of the stuff going on here it is dire that we find out what has the Galbadians so spooked here, and quick before the Republic realizes what they're sitting on. That'll mean war for sure."

"So...we are leaving now, aren't we?" the third voice asked, dejected.

"'fraid so," the second voice said, "We'd better get a move on."

There was a scrape of chairs and John watched as four men stood up and walked out of the tavern, dropping money on the table for their drinks. One was a very short old man with a pinched face, probably the one who spoke with the accent, John thought. Two others were average size and build, but were covered in cloaks similar to what John himself was wearing while the fourth man was an enormous bear of a man who looked like he ate cows for breakfast. He wore blue cloth over his head, and when he turned around John noticed an enormous scar running down the side of his face.

John pulled the cowl of his cloak down over his eyes until the big man followed the other three out of the tavern. John watched after them and did not notice that Seifer had plopped down next to him.

"You look more like a local now, good," Seifer said, "Now hopefully you can keep your mouth shut or else they'll realize that you aren't one."

John ignored the slight at his accent, "Find out anything useful?"

"Possibly," Seifer said, "All I found out is what we already know, the continent is ready to go up in flames. Half want a more powerful central government while others want their own problems fixed. Others are arguing against changing the current situation, specifically some of the more powerful governors. Travel's been restricted into some districts, because they've been 'teeming with monsters.' But that's a lie, more likely the governors do not want spies from the central government or neighboring territories to see what they are up to."

"So what do we do?" John asked.

"Wait and keep our ear to the ground. Hopefully we can approach one of these governors and have them purchase SeeD's services, or at least that's what Squall wants."

"I heard something interesting while I was sitting here," John, "Four men were talking about leaving the city immediately, that they had work to do. I think they were from Esthar."

"Esthar?" Seifer said, "Why?"

"They sounded like they were trying to get somewhere a head of the Galbadians."

"That doesn't just mean Esthar," Seifer said, "It could mean Timber or Dollet or any other number of people who don't like Galbadia. Describe these people to me," he ordered sharply.

John did so and Seifer relaxed back in his booth, "The short one with the accent, that must be Dr. Odine. You may be onto something, which surprises me. Which way did they go?" John nodded out the door and Seifer quickly got up and crossed the room and walked out the door.

The street was teeming with people, but no one who looked like the four men from the Tavern.

"Comeon," Seifer said roughly as he grabbed John and dragged him through the crowd.

"Where are we going?" John said pitching his voice so that Seifer could hear it.

"If they've left already, they must have cleared it with the gate guards. We need to go after them, so we need to find which gate they left out of."

"Who is Doctor Odine?" John demanded as he followed Seifer around a corner.

"One of the world's foremost scientists, he's from Esthar, works for their president."

"What is Esthar doing here?" John asked.

"I don't know, but we need to find out," Seifer said.

The two spent the better part of two hours going from gate to gate around the city, questioning guards about if they had let anyone who matched the description through their gate. Usually it required some amount of coercion or bribe to get the guards talking, and it usually proved to be a waste of money. Finally at the very last gate, small and in the back alley of a bad neighborhood they got positive result.

"Yeah I let them through," an older guard said, "I figured I'd better, or else the big one would crack my head in!"

"Did they say where they were going?" Seifer demanded.

"No need, only one place that this gate leads, and that's Biggstown, right up next to the old ruins. All that was left of Old Centra after the Lunar Cry, or so they say. Sorry, that's all I know."

"How far to Biggstown?" John asked, and Seifer frowned at John speaking at all.

"Two days on foot, watch out for monsters though. They're everywhere, unless you wanna rent a chocobo. I know a guy who rents them for a fair price..."

"We'll take two," Seifer said quickly.

* * *

"Shouldn't we have told Selphie and Nida we were leaving?" John asked as the thought had just occurred to him when they pulled into the small settlement of Biggstown.

"They'll figure it out," Seifer said without much thought.

"Alright..." John said, deciding to let it drop.

The town was a collection of ramshackle buildings and shacks, though a more permanent looking home at the center of town were clearly the mayor's house. Seifer wasted no time in finding out that the four men they had been after had arrived in a rental car and stuck around long enough to gather supplies before heading off to the ruins.

Able to be seen for miles, the ruins were something of a mystery to the local residents. It stood like a giant box frame sitting on a corner. Anyone who had ever gone to explore the ruins, however had never come back. This suggested that the monsters inside the ruins were even more dangerous then the ones that roamed the planes.

Seifer did not hesitate, and immediately left for the ruins, John in tow against the advice of the towns people.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" John asked as he grabbed at his sword, just to make sure it was there, "It sounds like Doc Odine and the rest of them are getting themselves killed!"

"Of course I'm sure! I've never been wrong for doing things rashly!"

"I see," John said, somewhat doubtful.

* * *

The ruins were dark, in the shadows of an enormous mountain range just to their west. The place had a feeling of foreboding to it, as though it were meant to remain empty. John noticed that inside of the box like structure, sat a large column. From the distance it looked like it had stairs running up the sides, but John was not sure. Then he spotted movement, and then another sound came to him, the sound of soft gunfire. It was coming from the column and John could see the figures moving up those stairs, clearly Doctor Odine and the others met some resistance.

John drew his sword, the one he had made while Seifer drew Hyperion. Together the two took off into ruins, meaning to catch up to the fighting humans. They were no more then ten steps into the ruins down a stone pathway when John tripped over something.

Turning around, John realized that it was a small creature with bright yellow eyes and a long green nose. It looked at John innocently, as though he were asking John why he had just done that. In his little fist, he carried a lantern which provided some illumination for the surrounding area, in the other it held a huge knife.

John leapt to his feet and jumped backward just as the small monster tried to plunge his knife into John's leg. Seifer grabbed John by the neck an pulled him away.

"Comeon, they're tonberry's, really dangerous. Just keep running and DON'T get stabbed," he said quickly as the two took off up a set of stairs.

"Oh gee, don't get stabbed!" John said sarcastically, "That's real good advice right there!"

"The blades are poisoned. Kill you quicker then any snake bite," Seifer explained as they sprinted up the stairs.

"Oh," John said, "I see."

Running as fast as possible, John realized that the place was crawling with Tonberries. The small green monsters looked humorous, more like something he would kick around his dorm room on a boring day, but the knives they carried glinted in the lantern light that they carried, showing their true intent.

John ran and ran, trying to keep on the heels of Seifer who occasionally swung Hyperion at a close one in an attempt to knock it out of his way, and it usually worked. Finally they reached the base of the column just to find more stairs, this time spiraling up the side of the enormous pillar.

Finally at the top, John saw the four companions that they had followed all through the desert

Seifer wasted no time and continued running up the stairs as quickly as he could. The sounds of gunfire got louder as they got closer to the top, and finally John spotted the four travelers they had been tracking since he had spotted them in the Tavern in Gilgamesh.

The machine gun fire was coming from the group's leader, an average sized man with lengty black hair, was pouring round after round into the oncoming Tonberries. A slimmer black man with braids in his hair was dancing around with a pair of slim blades attached to his arms slicing away wildly at the oncoming tonberries, always managing to avoid their deadly strikes. The big man that John noticed earlier with the large scar running down the side of his meaty head was throwing an enormous harpoon that could have passed for an anchor at small clumps of the advancing green creatures, managing to hit several at a time. The last man, Doctor Odine, John presumed was busy working at some sort of sealed door behind the other three men, desperately trying to get the door open.

Clearly the situation was desperate and John and Seifer wasted no time in moving to the aid of the four surrounded men. John lashed out with his sword, knocking back a tonberry. It gave him a hurt look, and then slowly started to move toward him. Squaring his shoulders, John took up Lion on a Hill and slashed easily downward again. The tonberry only slid back a few feet, and then continued toward him.

"I don't know who you are," the group's leader said, "But thanks! Will you hurry up with that door Doc?"

"I am trying!" the Doctor cried, spinning dials and throwing switches that John had not noticed were in the door before.

"I would suggest trying harder," the black skinned man said calmly.

John swung again and he heard Seifer's gunblade go off, and John hacked again at the same tonberry when suddenly it lunged at his ankles with remarkable quickness from about five feet away. John tried to dodge, but he was caught too off balance and he looked in horror as the monster lunged toward him. Just when it seemed like his death was imminent, a fireball engulfed the Tonberry and it caught fire and ran off, squealing loudly.

"Ze door!" the Doctor cried and the massive door slid open, and all six ran inside just as the door closed.

Inside there was total darkness for a couple seconds, and then the room lit up into a bright cascade of yellow light, glinting off of walls that were lined with gold. As John glanced around in wonder, the leader of the group came up to Seifer and said, "Thank you, my name is Laguna, and these are Kiros, Ward, and...the doctor," he said taking Seifer's hand, "And who are you?"

Seifer grinned, "Seifer Almasy," the blonde said with an evil grin that made his face split apart unpleasantly, "And this is John Call," he said as an after thought.

Odine groaned at the mention of Seifer's name and Laguna recoiled as though struck at by a snake, "You! What are you doing here?!" he leveled his machine gun at Seifer's chest.

Seifer snorted, "I could ask you much the same thing _President_ Laguna. We followed you from Gilgamesh city just to figure out what you were doing in a backwards place like Centra."

John returned his focus to the conversation, clearly sure that the three armed men were not happy at Seifer's appearance so he decided to keep his sword sheathed, he could get it out quickly if necessary.

"Why _we're_ here?" Laguna asked stunned, "And you followed us? What sorceress are you working for now, Knight?"

"Not a one," Seifer said, "I'm here on assignment from Balamb Garden, my new employer."

"Liar!" Laguna shouted, "Squall would never!"

"Just ask him!" Seifer shouted back, waving his arm at John, "He's one of your...of Squall's students."

John was about to open his mouth as the three men turned their attention on him, when another voice interrupted all of them.

"_Quiet!" _the voice grated and they all turned toward the far corner of the room. Sitting on a massive white horse was an even more massive man. He was dressed in blue and white armor, with a helmet that had horns coming out of the top at jagged angles colored black. The man's face was a pale green, with eyes that glowed red. His mouth opened and bared fangs, and John realized that this was no man.

"Who are you?" Laguna demanded.

_"Who I am does not matter," _the thing grated, "_ but know that you were killed by Odin, holder of Zantetsuken." _

The creature raised a massive curved blade over his head and spurred his horse forward, Laguna opened fire but the bullets bounced off of the armor. Ward hurled his massive anchor at the horse's legs, but it easily jumped over it. John, Seifer, and Kiros stood their ground, blades upraised.

Seifer and Kiros dodged to the side as Odin slashed down on both of them, narrowly missing Kiros and Seifer. Seifer managed to get back up and struck at the horse's back leg, causing the beast to rear up in pain. Odin reacted immediately and lashed backward, striking Seifer with the flat of his blade so hard, that Seifer was sent hurling backwards into the wall, where he was knocked unconscious.

Kiros used that to his advantage and sunk both of his _katar_ into the horse's flanks, where the horse finally crumpled. Odin dismounted smoothly, Zantetsuken raised easily in his hands and he brought it down onto Kiros, who crumpled, blood splattering on the ground below him.

"KIROS! NO!" Laguna cried and produced a hand grenade and tossed it at Odin's feet before running around the room away from Odin, firing round after round into the monster's body. Finally, after several long seconds, the grenade exploded forcing John to take cover. When the smoke cleared, John and Laguna were amazed to see Odin still on his feet, apparently unhurt. In fact, he just looked more angry.

He began to advance on Laguna when large arms wrapped around him from behind. Ward was trying to pick the monster up and keep him away from Laguna. Odin easily picked up Ward and flung him into Laguna, sending both into unconsciousness.

This left just John, alone against something that was probably unbeatable. Draining his mind of all thoughts and emotion, John stepped forward sword upraised. If he was going to die here, he might as well give the monster a fight.

Odin struck first, sword coming down in something that reminded John of the Courtier taps his Fan, which John automatically deflected before countering with the River undercuts the Bank, hoping to strike his opponent in the stomach. Odin saw it coming and danced backwards, then struck forward with Hummingbird kisses the Honey Rose.

John couldn't bring his sword back in time so he had to dance to the side to avoid the attack, and then struck with Arc of the Moon which managed to catch Odin's arm. Flinching backwards in surprise the demon quickly recovered, seemingly unhurt by the attack. He began to consciously strike at John using something that reminded John of Striking the Spark, a series of powerful overhand blows that would have cleaved John in two had he not had the speed or stamina to block them.

Finally John knew he was going to either have to beat the monster now or else die, so he feigned sidestepping one way before striking forward in an attack. Odin was caught off guard and looked down in surprise as John's sword went though his armor.

The creature stopped fighting and studied John carefully, after a moment it said "_Very well, I will join you," _and then it disappeared along with its horse.

There was silence in the room for a few moments and then the sound of groaning as everybody got back to their feet. Everybody except for Kiros, who was still bleeding badly and unconscious.

"What happened?" Laguna asked rubbing his head, and then he spotted Kiros, "Kiros!" he shouted and ran over to help his friend, "Ward can you help me with him?"

The big man nodded his head and ran over picking up the badly bleeding man and throwing him over his shoulder.

"Where's Odin?" Seifer asked, Hyperion still unsheathed and looking around fiercely, "When I find him I'll..."

"He haz been...defeatzed," came the almost silent voice of Dr. Odine from the corner of the room. The man had been cowering in the corner of the room by the door since the battle had begun and now he stared at John with eyes full of fear, "Ze boy, he defeatzed Odin."

Everybody stared at John now, but Laguna brought their attention back, "We can deal with that later, right now we need to get out of here...and get Kiros to saftey."

"I can not open ze door from ziz side," Odine said bleakly, "I have tried."

Laguna opened his mouth to order Dr. Odine to try again when the door slid open again, and Nida and Selphie came rushing in to the room.

"There you are!" Nida said angrily, "We've been running all over Centra to find you! We tried raising you on the radios! I thought you had kidnapped..." he stopped talking when he saw Laguna and Ward, "...Oh," was all he said then.

"Sir Laguna!" Selphie said excitedly, "What are you doing here?"

"I'll tell you later," Laguna said, though he seemed happy to see a familiar face, "Kiros is hurt."

"What? Oh, we have a car down by the entrance we can use to get him out of here," Nida said, "But we came to deliver a message to Seifer and John. We've been recalled to Garden."

"Why?" Seifer asked suspicously, "We just got here."

"Galbadia just declared war on Esthar and the Garden."


	11. Chapter 11: Mobilizing

Chapter 11: Mobilization

Squall moved briskly toward the elevators, both Quistis and Xu were keeping pace with him on either side supplying him with information as he walked. For the most part he ignored both of them, all of the tactical data did not matter and he knew what to expect. The Garden was outnumbered and the Galbadians knew right where Balamb Garden was, and just as before they would undoubtedly attempt to destroy it with one shot. They would have succeeded last time too, but for the sheer luck that Squall had managed to activate the Garden's defense system in the nick of time.

And hopefully, that would be the case today.

"What's the status on activating the Garden's flight systems?" He barked, interrupting both Xu and Quistis. They hesitated and exchanged glances with each other before Xu spoke.

"It's been difficult to get the system operational without Nida in the Garden, but the engineers assure me that it will not be much longer."

"We are fortunate that for some reason, they declared war first instead of attacking us preemptively. But I doubt that was an intentional mistake," Quistis added.

"When Selphie blew up their primary missile base it set them back…" and Squall was ignoring them again. The elevator doors closed and shot up to the third floor of the building, to his office. He had already issued the appropriate orders and the SeeDs were carrying them out as were the students, they would be airborne soon even without Nida. The pilot they had would be a temporary solution though, and they desperately needed Nida back. Why _had_ he sent Nida off on a mission with _Seifer?_

_

* * *

  
_

Seifer pulled himself over the ridge line, finally able to see the ocean and a way out of the desolate landscape that was Centra. There was no way out of here except by the trains that had been shut down…or by boat. Not even the President of Esthar had paused to worry about helping him or the other Garden personal who were with him….they had been shuttled onto an aircraft and taken away.

"Slow…down, Seifer," Nida gasped, coming over the rise after him. Both he and Selphie had been exhausted for days as their car had run out of gas long after Laguna and company had left them. What had impressed Seifer thought was how the youngest cadet…that Call kid seemed able to push himself beyond the other two older and more experienced SeeDs…even though they had clearly junctioned Guardian Forces. He shrugged it off though, it wasn't important so long as he kept up.

"We're almost to the coast," Seifer grunted with a casual turn of his head, "We can rest when we get there."

Even Selphie had abandoned her usual cheerful demeanor, cursing softly under breath every time she stumbled over a rock or stepped on a blister. _She should have chosen better footwear then heeled boots, _Seifer thought. He had no time for fools who did not understand the value of preparation. Even if they were _SeeDs_.

John looked up as he pulled himself across the next rise behind Nida and Selphie, clearly they were not used to wandering across mountainous terrain for this long. Though this was not by any means 'fun,' for the cadet, he was still used to the terrain…and at least there was an absence of snow like in Trabia.

"And what exactly is at the coast other then water?" John shouted up at Seifer, "Aside from another collection of monsters that want to eat us?"

Seifer shrugged, "With the trains to Galbadia from Centra most likely not running or blown up, avoiding the cities is necessary. We can hopefully find some sort of way off of this barren rock on the ocean…some settlement or something…"

John bit back an oath, it seemed that even Seifer had no plan and no sense of direction. If they stumbled into one more geezard nest he thought he would lose it.

* * *

Laguna leaned back in his chair, fingers crossed in front of him as his cabinet argued loudly in front of him. Kiros sat patiently with his arms folded at Laguna's right side while Ward stood behind him scowling in anger. His Ministers of Defense and Economics were at in each others faces reduced to lobbing insults at one another, he could listen to the chaos no more. Waving with one hand at Ward, the large man stomped loudly on the crystal floor of the conference room forcing the whole room to shudder. The room became instantly silent and all looked first at Ward and then at Laguna.

"What are the Galbadian's reasons?" he asked calmly.

The Minister of State cleared his throat and stood up, sweeping the ceremonial robe behind him dramatically, "As I stated earlier Mr. President…the Galbadians believe that we have come across some immensely powerful weapon with the help of SeeD. They've already launched several preemptive strikes with their tactical missiles…"

"Okay, thank you," he said cutting the Minister of State off. The man actually gawked at him for a few moments before nodding and sitting down. The man clearly thought a lot of himself, but he did not realize how replaceable he was, especially after he did not get any sort of indication that Galbadia was even _considering_ war, "Now, what weapon did we 'develop with SeeD?'"

The Minister of Defense shook his head, "We've been working on some new armor for the troops and a new kind of weapon system, but nothing that we've been sharing with SeeD or anything that would be dangerous enough to provoke a preemptive strike."

"What operations have we conducted with SeeD in the past six months?" Kiros asked suggestively.

The Minister again shook his head, "None. Not since the Adel and Ultimecia incident and the clean up of monsters after that."

"…I think zat I have ze solution," Dr. Odine whimpered from the corner of the room. He had been there silently drinking out of a thick bottle of whiskey for the past hour while the debate had raged. He scampered onto his feed and swayed uneasily, the wide collar around his neck throwing him off balance even more. He recovered by grabbing onto the conference table to steady himself, "Zit waz zat boy! Ze ones witz ze SeeDz!" His accent was even more pronounced after he had been drinking.

"Explain," Laguna demanded.

The room was silent and Odine gathered himself, and opened his mouth to speak when he fell backwards and landed on the floor. Clearly unconscious, one of the Doctor's aids rushed to his side and checked to make sure he was alright.

"What did he mean?" the Minister of Economics asked. And the aid stood up, "I believe I can explain, if you would hear me Mr. President?" the aid asked with a slight bow.

When Laguna nodded, he went on, "I believe that Dr. Odine is distressed because he's believes he's seen proof of the first Sorcerer."

"The what?" Laguna said flatly.

"I'll start from the beginning. When Hyne created the world he left half of his power with himself and half with the humans he created. Those who received parts of his power were named Sorceresses, and were all entirely female. Over the years that power has split off into the Guardian Forces which the Doctor himself only recently learned how to junction to humans, giving any human the abilities of a sorceress. You are all familiar with this, and the SeeDs use the junctioning methods regularly, it's what gives them their strength. All of these powers are fractions of Hyne's power, and according to a prophecy that one of the Doctor's research teams found inside of the Crystal Pillar-which you all know as the Lunatic Pandora- eventually a male would be able to absorb the powers of a sorceress and collect all of Hyne's power. You can see why this terrifies Doctor Odine, imagine a single person more powerful then Adel was and all of the SeeDs combined," the assistant fell silent.

"And you actually believe that's why the Galbadian's are…" the Minister of State started, but was cut of by Laguna.

"Why haven't we heard about this before now?" he demanded, "I would think that the creation of someone able to rival Hyne would be something of importance!"

The assistant gave a slight bow, "I'm sorry, sir. But you know Dr. Odine," he nudged the unconscious eccentric with his foot, "He doesn't believe in anything until it is proven."

"Why is he convinced that it is possible now?" Laguna asked leaning forward.

"I don't know sir," the assistant confessed, "But I know the last time he drank straight whiskey, was when you convinced him to join the resistance against Adel."

"His timing was just as bad then as it is now," Laguna said dryly.

* * *

Bloodied and bruised, John climbed over the last ridge and a wonderful sight met his eyes, and a salty breeze stung his face. The ocean was just below them, no more than five hundred meters away and to make things even better, a giant white ship sat in a small cove on the shore.

"YESSSS!" Selphie squealed, all of her energy suddenly restored, "We're saved!"

"You don't know that!" Seifer snapped, "They could be Galbadians or raiders or anything! But we do have a way out of here," Seifer said drawing Hyperion.

"I don't think that's necessary," Nida said, "They're not enemies. It's the White SeeD ship…they used to hang out in these coves and rocks when their mission was to hide Ellone. They were commanded by Edea herself….before Ultimecia took control of her."

"I know all about Ultimecia and Edea!" the former Sorceress' knight snapped.

"Shouldn't we go down there?" John asked, and the two SeeDs and the Instructor looked at him. John unconsciously scratched his still healing chest, "What's the worst that could happen?"

"I _hate _it when people say that!" Nida groaned.

* * *

Balamb Garden groaned and shuttered as the halo that was usually stationary above it descended and rotated into the ground, forcing the Garden up into the air until it hovered just off the ground. It hesitated for a moment and then slowly began pushing forward toward the shore on the southern edge of Balamb, sluggishly at first and then gradually increasing in speed until it made a large splash in the ocean. The mobile military base changed direction once it cleared the continent and moved northeast…towards Trabia.

Squall was standing on the bridge watching the technician familiarize himself with the controls of the Garden, clearly not as good a pilot as Nida was. Something bothered Squall though, last time the Galbadian's had threatened the Garden they had launched a preemptive strike against the Garden. This time, none came…it was almost like the Galbadians had let them go. They must have known about the Garden's abilities after the last time they had used them, so why not strike without warning? Dark thoughts clouded Squall's thoughts as he looked out over the endless ocean, but then again that was hardly different from any other time.


End file.
